Daughter of Destruction
by coolsville times
Summary: A year after Apocalypse, everything seems to be going fine but what happens when the Hellfire Club wants to ensure that a dark prophecy for Wanda is fulfilled? Will the fate of the entire mutant community rest on Wanda? Pairings Jonda, Xietro.
1. More Potential

_Daughter of Destruction_

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own X-Men, X-Men Evolution, any of the characters in this fic, the Hellfire Club, the roles of the Hellfire Club, the Brotherhood or the House of M concept, that all belongs to MARVEL. _(Those lucky, lucky, lucky devils.)_

**Summary:** A year after Apocalypse, everything seems to be going fine but what happens when the Hellfire Club wants to ensure that a dark prophecy for Wanda is fulfilled? Rated T for now. Pairings Jonda, Xietro.

**Please Read- This is Background to the Story:**

**Notes:** My incarnation of the Hellfire Club includes members who didn't necessarily serve together in the comics and some characters might be OOC for the sake of the story.

I know some people like to know the ages and how the characters look so I'll provide them for you as I did with "Bodyguards" and they will still be in vague comic book form so if anyone wants direct links to pictures, you can message me or put it in your review. _(I do **NOT** own these pictures, they're straight from **MARVEL**.)_ The main characters are the Brotherhood so here goes:

_Scarlet Witch- Wanda Maximoff: age 19; appearance: earth 616, Ian Churchill version._

_Quicksilver- Pietro Maximoff: age 19; appearance: earth 616, Avengers: The Crossing version._

_X-23- Laura Kinney: age 17; appearance: earth 616, Target X version._

_Pyro- John Allerdyce: age 25; appearance: earth 20051._

_Toad- Todd Tolanski: age 18; appearance: X-Men Evolution Future._

_Avalanche- Lance Alvers: age 21; appearance: X-Men Evolution Future._

_Blob- Freddy Dukes: age 18; appearance: X-Men Evolution Future._

The X-Men will probably make brief appearances in this story but the story is mainly about the Brotherhood, Wanda and the Hellfire Club.

**What happened between Apocalypse and now?:**

The Brotherhood of Evil are now simply the Brotherhood and have sided with Xavier. They are under his protection and are gaining extra funds from him. X-23 is a member of the Brotherhood.

The old Acolytes are living with Xavier except for Pyro, who is living in the Brotherhood house.

Wanda has regained her memories and she and Pietro are very close.

John is trying to pursue a relationship with Wanda; Pietro and X-23 are going out.

Magneto has a new set of Acolytes which include Mystique, Mastermind, Destiny and Sabretooth. Magneto is also a member of the Hellfire Club.

The Hellfire Club is a mutant society that covers as a strip club to the public. The members are as follows: Selene Gallio: Black Queen; Sebastian Shaw: Black King; Emma Frost: White Queen; Lady Tessa: Shaw's assistant (not a spy for Xavier in this fic); Magneto: White King. (Magneto's Acolytes are associates of the Hellfire Club.)

Now that all of that is taken care of, on to the story! (If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.)

* * *

_Chapter One: More Potential_

_Brotherhood House..._

Wanda sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. She was never able to get any peace, no matter where she went.

"Want me to kill him?" A voice asked from behind her.

Wanda laughed and shook her head, eyes never leaving her book.

"No, Laura, let him be. He's had a rough time." Wanda stated, moving her legs so that Laura could sit beside her on the couch.

Laura nodded sagely and looked toward the subject of their scrutiny.

Todd Tolanski. He and Freddy had been fighting all day over the remote, leaving both girls to wince as the argument grew louder and louder. At least Fred tried to keep his voice down, which was more than anyone could say for Todd.

Todd had always been a little on the annoying side and was always punished for his annoyance with a hex bolt or the threat of being castrated but this time, Wanda decided to let him go unpunished.

Todd had just found out that his grandmother died last week. The poor boy had been completely heartbroken. His grandmothers' house had always been a safe haven for him when the abuse at his own home grew too much to bear. Needless to say that his behavior the past week had grown to an unbearable extent, but Wanda would threaten anyone who wanted to bring harm to the boy in his time of mourning.

Wanda had never had much patience with Todd, or anyone for that matter, but she knew what it was like to have someone you love leave you and she knew that he was acting out in pain.

"Give him a while and if his behavior doesn't straighten up, then you can beat him to a pulp." She had told Pietro. "Until then, he's under my protection."

Those words had sealed the deal and no one dared touch Todd in a threatening way without Wanda's consent. Everyone in the Brotherhood house knew that Wanda was more powerful than anyone of them and that she wouldn't hesitate to hex any of them into oblivion for disobeying orders.

Yes. Wanda was the new leader of the Brotherhood, or new co-leader, to be exact. She and Pietro shared the decision making process and the really big decisions were voted on by the team. The Brotherhood was being run fairly now and everything usually went smoothly around the _'Hood House'_, as they affectionately called it.

Wanda's attention on her book was once again broken as the front door slammed. Looking up from her book, Wanda saw her brother and John storm through the hallway and into the kitchen.

Wanda put down her book and nudged Laura curiously. Suddenly a loud slamming noise was heard in the kitchen and both girls crept from their place on the couch to the kitchen door silently.

Pietro and John were in there putting the groceries away and avoiding each others gaze. Wanda rolled her eyes and stepped out from her hiding place in the hall, Laura following her.

"So, how did the shopping go?" She asked innocently.

Pietro turned from his position at the counter, sent her a glare and turned back around to what he was doing.

"My, what a look!" Laura exclaimed. "What did you do?" She asked Wanda, the hint of a laugh in her voice.

John laughed and said: "I wouldn't speak too soon, sheila, I think he's mad at you too."

Laura dramatically held her hand over her heart and made her way over to her boyfriend.

"Sweetheart, what did I ever do to make you unhappy with me?" She asked in a high, overly girly voice.

Pietro turned, reached into one of the grocery bags, took something out and threw it at her.

"A price check was announced all over the store." He snarled. "Do you know how many weird looks I got from little old ladies?"

At this, Wanda and Laura burst into peals of laughter. Laura threw the item in her hands on the counter and walked up beside Pietro.

"I'm sorry you had a rough day at the market." She told him, kissing the tip of his nose.

"No you're not." He pouted, losing his anger at her affection. "You laughed at me. You both laughed at me. It was embarrassing!" He exclaimed.

Wanda bit her lip to keep a giggle from escaping and walked over to Pietro. Throwing her arms around his neck, she said: "We thank you anyway. You seriously don't know how eternally grateful we are for your sacrifice." She told him, kissing his cheek before releasing him.

John pouted and said: "I sacrificed too you know!"

"No you didn't." Pietro started, putting an arm around Laura. "As soon as the price check started, you headed for the door. No one looked at you like you were a perv."

"So, I was still there." John reminded. "And I'm the one who had to go down the isle to get them." He exclaimed, pointing his finger at the item on the counter.

Wanda laughed and walked over to John.

"Then we are eternally grateful to you as well, John." She purred, kissing him on the cheek as well.

John grinned cheekily at Pietro, who just glared and said: "He totally played you, Wanda. He just wanted to get kissed, that's all."

"Oh Pietro, how could you say such a thing?" Wanda asked in mock horror.

Laura laughed and picked up the box on the counter. Walking out of the room, she called: "Thanks for getting me some tampons at the store, Pietro! I really appreciate it."

Wanda and John laughed at the: "Dude you are so whipped!" that came from the living room and walked out of the kitchen together, leaving a sulking Pietro behind in their wake.

* * *

_Hellfire Club..._

A lone figure draped in black walked casually down a deserted hallway. Looking around to see if anyone was in sight, the hooded figure dashed into a side room and shut the door quickly.

"Selene, your theatrics never cease to amaze me." Emma laughed from her seat behind a large desk.

The hooded figure, now known as Selene, jumped slightly and turned to glare at the younger woman.

Throwing away her cloak, revealing a black bodice, leather pants and black boots, Selene said: "You know, you'd get farther in this world if you learned a little discretion."

Emma raised an eyebrow at her, and Selene took this as a signal to continue.

"Take it from me, sweetheart. I've had years of repeated trial and error. I know what works and what doesn't." She laughed, sitting in one of the chairs provided before the White Queen's desk. "Now, do you want to tell me why you've made me cancel my plans to meet you? I was going to feed tonight. You know I've started getting wrinkles? Unsightly little things..." She trailed, feeling her face with her hands, trying to find some ghastly deformity.

Emma simply rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair.

"Selene, important matters here. Your imaginary wrinkles? Not important."

Selene opened her mouth to protest but Emma cut her off.

"I've just come from speaking with Destiny."

"You mean Magneto's Destiny?" Selene asked, her interest piqued.

Emma nodded.

"The one and the same. It seems that those little X-children are a tad more powerful than we've given them credit for. One is at least..." Emma trailed, leaving the rest of her statement open for guesses from her companion.

"Emma, thinking on an empty brain makes my head hurt. You wanna quit with the games and just tell me what Destiny said already?" Selene asked, quickly growing impatient.

Selene never was one for games in which she wasn't the one holding the cards. She liked to cut to the chase, something Emma just couldn't allow when she held all the power of this new information.

"Well, I suppose if you don't want to know..." Emma started, glancing at her fingernails.

Selene huffed.

"Fine. Marvel Girl? Rogue? The one that can walk through stuff?" Selene asked, getting increasingly frustrated with every shake of the White Queen's head.

"The Scarlet Witch." Emma revealed with a predatory grin.

Selene's eyes sparkled with a new light as she leaned forward in her chair.

"Tell me more."

* * *

_OK. This is my first Evolution fic since "Bodyguards" so I might be a little rusty. (I mean that was a whole four months ago.) This is a little short, but my first chapters usually are. (Everyone knows the beginning starts out a little slow.) Please review, no flames though. The more reviews I get, the more likely I am to update, yada, yada, yada. You guys know this already, lol. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I hope you all have a wonderful day._

_-anon goddess_** ;)**


	2. The Prophecy

_Daughter of Destruction_

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own X-Men, X-Men Evolution, the characters, the Hellfire Club, the roles of the Hellfire Club or the concept of the House of M.

**Notes:** A special thanks to Boleyngirl1407 for reviewing.

Thoughts are in _'italics';_ also, Wanda and Pietro's history is a little different in this fic than it is in X-Men Evolution, just so that no one is confused. It's kind of a mixture of X-Men Evolution background and comic background. All will be explained in due time I promise.

* * *

_Chapter Two: The Prophecy_

_Emma's Office..._

Emma smirked as Selene leaned forward in her chair.

"I don't know if I should say anything else. I mean, Destiny disclosed this information to me in confidence..." She trailed.

Selene's eyes narrowed and she frowned.

_'That is so typical of her to try and bait me.'_ She thought.

Suddenly a smile appeared on Selene's face and she stood from her chair.

"Well, if it was in confidence, you probably should keep it to yourself then." She stated, walking towards the door. "If we're finished here, my soul is hungry."

Emma panicked slightly as Selene reached the door. Selene always liked to use reverse psychology on her, but this time she looked serious and Emma just _had_ to tell someone.

"No we are not finished here!" Emma yelled across her mind.

Selene winced and brought her hands to her head.

"OK, don't get pushy." She told her, walking back to her seat with a grimace. "So, what about the Scarlet Witch?" She asked, sitting down.

"Destiny has revealed that Wanda Maximoff is not living up to her full potential. It seems that Wanda is subconsciously limiting her abilities so that they are manageable. In reality, the girl could possibly be the most powerful mutant on this earth." Emma explained.

Selene whistled low and shook her head.

"Heavy, but why is that so important? She won't join us and even if we controlled her, we couldn't use her powers since _she's_ the one limiting them. Besides, Pietro won't let anyone near her!" She exclaimed.

"True but that's not all Destiny said. She also told me that Wanda's powers will drive her to the brink of sanity when she can no longer control them."

"So she's gonna go crazy? Look out world." Selene joked.

"Yes, look out world indeed. Wanda will end up depowering half of the mutant population in her insane state."

Selene's eyes widened with actual fear. She couldn't go on one second without her powers let alone the rest of her life, which could end up being very short without said powers.(1)

"How is this good news exactly?"

"It's not, unless she gets a little help. If we can somehow control her mind once she is driven insane, instead of depowering mutants, we can get her to help the rest of humanity...evolve a little faster." Emma told her with a smirk.

"And just how do we do that? I'm not going in her mind and besides, I'm not powerful enough. Neither are you for that matter." Selene smugly pointed out. "Besides," She started, a moment later. "Does Destiny even know what's going to make her powers go out of control? I mean, she seems to have a good lock on them now."

Emma leaned back in her chair, propping her feet on her desk.

"All we have to do is ensure that the death of _Agatha Harkness_ comes to pass, everything else will fall into place."

* * *

_Brotherhood House..._

"Pietro what happened to my clothes!?" Laura yelled, slamming the door to their room and running downstairs.

Pietro winced from his seat at the kitchen table and Wanda raised an eyebrow, sharing a look with John over her coffee mug.

"What did you do?" John asked.

"Laundry." Pietro muttered, slouching low in his seat.

Wanda's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as Laura burst in the kitchen. She held up a shirt that was shrunk down to a toddler's size and a light pair of jeans, tinged with black and red and spotted with bleach stains.

"Let me explain." Pietro started.

"It better be good." Laura gritted out.

"Well you see, I was doing the laundry and I wasn't really paying attention to the colors I was washing things with or the laundry tag on the items."

"You call that an explanation?" Laura yelled.

"Would it help if I said I was blind?" Pietro asked weakly.

"No."

"What if I said Todd was distracting me?"

"You are so dead, Pietro." Laura yelled, lunging for her boyfriend, who quickly sped to the other side of the kitchen.

"OK Laura, calm down." Wanda started, getting out of her chair and walking over to the other girl.

"But this was my favorite pair of jeans." She protested. "And what about the rest of my clothes? I can't walk around naked."

Pietro started to speak but a glare from Laura had him thinking twice.

"All your clothes can't be ruined and we can go buy you some new clothes tomorrow." Wanda soothed, taking the shirt out of Laura's hands and inspecting it. "We'll use Pietro's credit card." She added at the look of uncertainty on Laura's face.

"Deal." Laura quickly agreed.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Pietro asked, watching his girlfriend and his sister leave the room.

When no reply came, Pietro sighed and plopped back down in his seat.

"Cheer up, mate. She might even buy some nice, slutty clothes." John offered, laughing as he too exited the kitchen.

When John got to the living room, he found Laura sitting on the couch with the remote. John opened his mouth to ask where Wanda went but Laura cut him off.

"She went to go take a nap; she said she didn't get much sleep last night. You can probably catch her before she lies down if you hustle." She advised, smirking as John took off up the stairs.

"Where was he going in such a hurry?" Lance asked, coming in the living room.

"No where."

* * *

_Wanda's Room..._

John stood in the doorway of Wanda's room, silently watching her cut her radio on and get ready for a nap. He smiled as the familiar sounds of soothing beach music quickly filled the room. No one would have guessed it, but Wanda was a beach music junky, it was her secret passion; just like his secret passion was writing about her.

Wanda jumped slightly as someone knocked on her door and quickly turned, almost falling backwards on her bed. When she saw it was John, she smiled.

"Hey." She whispered, before turning back to her bed and making herself look busy.

She always got a funny feeling around John. She knew she shouldn't, they were just friends and he had helped her through so much since his time at the Brotherhood house but she couldn't help it. There was always a little nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach whenever he was around and it got worse when he spoke to her or looked at her in that way that only he could. The way she was sure he was looking at her now.

He always gave her that look when they were alone and sometimes when they weren't alone, which sparked many a fight between he and Pietro. It was a special look, a look that communicated a special feeling. His eyes would sweep over her body, taking in her appearance and then rest on her own eyes, burning a hole through her and looking right into her soul. It was a calming sort of look but at the same time it was a look that was capable of making her face grow hot and have her blushing like a school girl.

"Hey." He whispered back, voice husky and deep and thick with that Australian accent of his. "Laura tells me you didn't get much sleep last night." He said, his voice raising to it's normal speaking level.

"Yeah." Wanda confirmed, straightening her pillows.

"Having those dreams again?" He asked, eyes leaving her form and looking around her room.

One would expect someone with dark, mystical powers to be a dark, mystical person but Wanda wasn't like that and it showed in her decorating. Wanda was a very calm person, despite her anger at Magneto, and once her _goth_ phase was over, she let her true personality come out.

Wanda was someone very in tune with nature and loved spending much of her time at the beach or swimming or out hiking, anything to get her outside, so it was no surprise that her room was a very calming place to spend time. The walls were, of course red but the rest of her room was littered with things like small hanging plants, seashells, jars with scented crystals, candles and incense. Her bed was a very simple, wooden daybed covered in a sea of red with a canopy of white fabric above it and she had a simple chaise lounge in the corner of the room. There were magical little trinkets scattered here and there but a lot of it was mostly heirlooms from her mothers' side of the family. Wanda was a gypsy and very proud of it, so there were elements of that in her room as well, but no dark magic like some would expect.

"I guess." Wanda responded shyly.

John's eyes stopped roaming the room and flicked back to Wanda, who was now sitting on her bed looking at him.

"You either are or you aren't, luv. Really no room for guesses." He joked, but the laughter Wanda was so used to seeing in him, wasn't there anymore. "Why'd you stop comin' to me for help if you were still havin' dreams?" He asked, seriously.

Wanda looked at the floor and wrung her hands. Not long after Wanda's memories came back, she started having disturbing dreams about the memory swiping process. One night after waking up from a restless sleep, she went down to the kitchen to get a midnight snack and found John up eating ice cream. The details of that night were quite fuzzy to her but Wanda knew that she had ended up spilling her guts to him and had, somehow, woken up in his bed the next morning. Fully clothed, but in his bed. Things continued like that for a few months and soon Wanda had found herself sleeping in John's room every night, nothing romantic or kinky, just a friend going to a friend for comfort. Then one day Pietro and John almost got into a fight over her and she just stopped going to his room at night. She figured his life would be much easier without her inadvertently making problems for him. After their nightly rendezvous' stopped, however, Wanda's dreams came back and they were worse but she couldn't bring herself to go to John for help, so instead she learned how to live on five hours of un-restful sleep. That was probably why Wanda was a nap person. The dreams didn't come during short periods of sleep, it was only at night when she was alone in the dark that they haunted her.

"OK, so I had a dream, so what?" She bit back. "What business is it of yours?"

Wanda had realized long ago that if attitude was given as a response to an unpleasant question, most people would back off. This wasn't the case with John, however. John would keep pushing until she bared her soul to him.

"No need to get all defensive, luv, just curious." He responded, losing his relaxed stance against the door frame. "Just know that my room is always open if you need me."

"Yeah, I know." Wanda replied, sadly.

John's heart broke at the look on her face. She looked like a small child that had been taunted with something they couldn't have. That look wouldn't let him leave the room until she knew that he was more serious with his offer to her than he had ever been in his entire life.

Walking over to her, John bent down and took her face in both of his hands. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, John marveled at how her deeply tanned skin complimented his own.

With blue eyes, searching and sincere, he said: "I mean it, luv. If you ever need me, I don't care what time it is, my door is always open to you."

Wanda nodded, unable to say anything as he leaned down and kissed her forehead before releasing her and walking out of her room, shutting the door behind him.

Sighing, Wanda fell back on her bed and looked up at her canopy. Raising her hands to mess with the stray fabric above her, Wanda knew that she wasn't going to be able to get her scheduled nap.

* * *

_Brotherhood House, Second Floor; 2:00 am..._

Wanda crept silently down the hall, searching for a door she had once been very familiar with. Upon reaching the door, she experimentally tried the handle, wondering if John had been telling the truth with what he had offered earlier.

Finding the door locked, she sighed and turned around to go back to her own room. Before she could get far, however, a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a warm chest.

Knowing instantly who it was, Wanda didn't struggle as the figure quickly pulled her into the room she was just trying to gain entrance to.

"I thought your door was always open." Wanda mocked as the figure released her.

"It's always open to _you_, luv, not everyone in the house." John stated, moving in front of her and locking his door back. "Dream?" He asked, turning to face her.

Wanda only nodded as she covertly took in his bare chest. After many nights of sleeping with him, Wanda knew that John only slept in boxers but it had been a while since she had seen his body openly and so she took a minute to bask in his glory.

John, who hadn't noticed where her attention lay, found himself distracted by her night appearance as well. Wanda didn't usually wear much around the house but not everyone got to witness the Scarlet Witch dressed in only her bra and panties, so John felt the need to appreciate what she was letting him experience.

Wanda snapped out of her trance first and, feeling a little uneasy under his gaze, wrapped her scarlet bathrobe tighter around herself and tied it at the waist. Even though he could only see what the moonlight through his window allowed, Wanda still felt a blush cover her face.

The sudden action broke John's train of thought and he quickly diverted his eyes.

"You want to talk about it?" John asked, referring to her dream.

Wanda shook her head.

"No, I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind me crashing here tonight." She whispered, looking at the floor.

"Not at all, luv." John assured, taking her hand and pulling her over to the bed with him.

John laid down, giving Wanda some privacy to take off her robe. He wanted her to feel at home with him, not like she was sleeping with some perv.

"John?" Wanda asked quietly after a minute.

"Yeah?" He inquired, rolling over on his side to face her.

"I think I might've tied my robe a little too tight, can you help me?" She asked, pointing to the knot in the belt at her waist.

John laughed and sitting up, motioned her over to his side of the bed. Wanda came to stand between his legs while John took the soft fabric in his hands and tried to think about anything other than the fact that the fabric in question was on Wanda.

Wanda looked down at him and saw a storm raging behind his soft blue eyes but was too naive to realize that the storm was raging because of her. Wanda literally had no clue of her true sex appeal. Sure, she knew men found her attractive but it would never cross her mind that someone close to her would feel this attraction. It never crossed her mind that everyday the guys of the Brotherhood house might have to strain to control themselves when she would come downstairs, innocently wrapped in an over sized t-shirt.

That was one of the reasons John found her so attractive. She wasn't full of herself and she never tried to gain attention. Attention was gained whether she was aware or not.

John sighed as the fabric of the belt loosened and came undone, only to tense back up as the rest of the robe fell open and he found himself eye level with the smooth, fit planes of Wanda's stomach.

"There." He told her, voice hoarse, eyes glued to her form.

"Thanks."

John nodded and watched as Wanda walked back across the room and hung her robe on the back of his desk chair before climbing into bed with him.

"Good night, John." Wanda said, snuggling up to him and quickly drifting off to sleep.

"Good night, luv." John replied, situating the covers around them and wrapping an arm around her.

A second later, John felt Wanda's body move against him in an unconscious effort to find a more comforable position.

_'It's going to be a long night.'_

* * *

**Notes:**

_1. This is a refrence to the fact the Selene is over 10,000 years old and would die if she couldn't drain people of their life force. (She's a psychic vampire and she, once again, belongs to MARVEL not me.)_

* * *

_OK. There's chapter two and I hope everyone enjoyed it. Please, please review and I'll try to update soon._

_Have a great day._

_-anon goddess_ **;)**


	3. Breakfast, Slip Ups and Suspicions

_Daughter of Destruction_

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own X-Men, X-Men Evolution, the characters, the Hellfire Club, or the House of M idea. MARVEL, MARVEL, MARVEL, it all belongs to them.

**Notes:** I want to extend a very warm thank you to Valkyrien for reviewing. This chapter is for you because you inspire me to update faster. **:)**

* * *

_Chapter Three: Breakfast, Slip Ups and Suspicions_

_Brotherhood House; John's Room..._

Wanda woke up the next morning feeling more refreshed and rested than she had in only God knows when.

Sitting up and looking around, Wanda quickly realized that she wasn't in her own room. Judging by the black walls, drawn curtains and collections of CD's and movies lying around, she concluded that she was in John's room and a quick glance to her left confirmed her suspicions.

Suddenly, memories came sweeping over her and she remembered the terrifying dream that brought her here. Wanda sat back against the headboard of the bed and held her head in a feeble attempt to stop the flow of memories. After about five minutes, her mind cleared and she had time to think about how much care John had handled her with last night.

Wanda smiled as she looked down at John's sleeping face. His blond hair, uncombed and messy, was a wild shock of brightness against his black pillows and long lashes laid gently against his dark face. Thoughtlessly, she leaned down and kissed his forehead before throwing the covers away from her form and rising from the warmth they had generated together over the course of the night.

Putting her robe on, Wanda quietly left the room and trudged downstairs to make breakfast, giving a startled cry as she entered the kitchen.

"I didn't think anyone was up yet." She said, putting her hand over her wildly beating heart.

"Sorry." Laura meekly apologized. "I should have known by the way you were walking that you didn't expect anyone to be in here."

"Oh it's no problem. I should have remembered that you were the early bird in the house." Wanda laughed, crossing from the doorway to the cabinets.

There was a comfortable silence for a moment before the sounds of Laura sniffing filled the air.

"Want to tell me why you smell like John, or should I guess?" She asked, smiling at Wanda in a knowing manner.

Wanda simply rolled her eyes and warmed up the stove while she got some pots and pans out of the cabinet.

"You know that if I guess, it will be as kinky as can possibly be imagined, so you should probably just tell me now." Laura tried again, getting the egg carton from the refrigerator and placing it on the counter beside Wanda.

"Nothing happened." Wanda stated simply. "I just had a bad dream is all."

Laura snorted as she put some bread in the two toasters set up on the counter.

"Yeah and I'm the queen of England."

"Well hello your majesty." Wanda laughed. "Seriously, though, nothing happened." She insisted, cracking the eggs and putting them into different pans.

"I thought you said you weren't going to rely on John anymore after what happened with Pietro, though." Laura reminded.

"I did but yesterday John came to my room and said something that just made me need _him_ to be the one to be there for me last night." Wanda replied mysteriously, gathering various ingredients from around the room before returning to her spot in front of the stove.

"You'd better dish." Laura demanded, turning away from the toaster.

Wanda opened her mouth to say something, but a gust of wind swept by both of them.

"Hey, babe. Sis." Pietro greeted, giving each girl a kiss on the cheek before rushing back out of the room.

"Morning Pietro." Both girls replied in unison, knowing he couldn't hear them. It was the thought that counted.

Laura walked over to Wanda and nudged her while Pietro was out of the room.

"I'll tell you later." Wanda promised, seconds before Pietro rushed back in and sat at the kitchen table, paper in hand.

All was silent in the kitchen for a while until Pietro finished the paper and sped over to Wanda, looking over her shoulder as she tended to the eggs.

"Who likes their eggs over easy?" Pietro asked curiously.

"Lance." Wanda replied, not really paying attention.

"And who likes the omelets?"

"Todd and Freddy. The one with the ham is Todd's and the deluxe is Freddy's." Wanda answered simply.

"And who likes their eggs scrambled?"

"You and I."

"Scrambled with cheese?"

"John and Laura."

Before Pietro could ask another question, the toast popped up. Laura made a move for it, but Wanda stopped her.

"I'll get it." Wanda offered. "I'm already over here."

Laura nodded and went over to where Pietro had abandoned the paper while Pietro followed Wanda to the toasters.

"Wanda?" Pietro asked again.

"Yes, Pie?" Wanda answered patiently, buttering the toast.

"Who likes buttered toast?"

"You, me, Laura and Lance."

"Who likes jelly?"

"Freddy and John."

"What about Todd?"

"He doesn't like toast, he eats regular bread."

"Hey, Wanda?"

"Pietro." Wanda started, still patient as ever. "I'm cooking right now; don't you have something you could be doing?" She asked, sweetly.

"Like what?" He inquired, a funny look on his handsome face.

Looking into his eyes, Wanda was reminded that sometimes, Pietro could still be like a child. He was curious and asked many questions just for the fun of it. It never occurred to him that his curiosity could get on peoples nerves. Wanda was patient with him, though; she knew that his curiosity was due to his speed. He could never know enough.

"How about you go check the news and see what the weather is going to be like today?" Laura suggested.

"OK." Pietro said, speeding off in the direction of the living room.

"How do you do it?" Laura asked, looking after her boyfriend. "It would drive me nuts."

"It takes practice. Most of the time I'm not really listening to what he says, I just hear words and respond." Wanda answered. "I just try to remember to be patient with him; I mean it's got to be hard for him, living in fast forward all the time while everyone else is at normal speed. He has no one to relate to. The closest he got to having someone to talk to was when Rogue absorbed him and he had to help her to control her speed."

"I don't think I could ever get used to all the questions." Laura sighed, looking over the front page of the paper.

"You will if you love him." Wanda stated simply, her tone holding no room for argument.

Laura looked up in surprise at Wanda's words but the other girl didn't even spare her a glance.

"It's not that hard, trust me. You'll get used to it just like you got used to speed-talk." Wanda added, without turning around.

Before Laura could reply, John came in the kitchen, still dressed in only his boxers.

Laura watched curiously as John passed Wanda, his hand discreetly sliding over her waist, making her jump. He muttered something into the air that sounded a lot like _'Morning, luv'_, but both were such small gestures that if one wasn't watching closely, they would have missed the interaction altoghter.

"Think you could've dressed before coming down?" Laura snickered, glancing back and forth between John and Wanda.

"Too tired, sheila." John told her, walking over to the refrigerator.

"Restless night?" Laura asked, eyes twinkling.

"Nope, great night, actually. Made me want to sleep the rest of the day, though." John answered, shutting the refrigerator and going to the cabinet in search of a coffee filter.

"Really." Laura mused. "What made you get up then?"

"The reason my night was so peaceful came downstairs." John responded absentmindedly, setting up the automatic coffee maker.

Wanda, who was at the sink, dropped the knife she was cleaning in shock. It was only when John heard the clank of the knife hitting the sink, did his own words register and he looked over at Wanda sheepishly.

Laura laughed as she watched the two and walked over to Wanda.

"Nothing happened, huh?" She whispered.

Wanda turned and swatted at the girl.

"Hush. Go call everyone for breakfast." She ordered in a motherly manner.

In a way, that's what Wanda was, a mother figure. She was definitely the most mature out of all of them. She was the voice of reason and she, most of the time, knew what was best for the group. She had all of their best interests at heart.

Seconds later, the kitchen was full and buzzing with the sounds of Pietro's voice, the groans of Lance, who wasn't completely awake and the snarky remarks Todd always seemed to be making, whether it be morning, noon or night.

"Need any help, Wanda?" Freddy asked, staring at the frying pans in front of her hungrily.

"No thank you, Freddy. I've got everything, just get a plate."

Freddy nodded and Wanda couldn't help but think about how sweet he was. The first time people looked at Freddy, they would assume he was mean and stupid when in reality, Freddy was very smart, knowing everything there was to know about poetry and he was very sweet. A gentle giant, even.

As soon as Wanda was finished passing everyone's food out to them, she quickly went into beverage detail.

"OK, who wants OJ and who wants milk?" She asked, rolling her eyes when she only got a chorus of _'I dos'_.

Sighing, Wanda just sat the carton of milk and the jug of orange juice in the middle of the table and let it be attacked by the wild animals she called a family.

"Did you want anymore coffee, John?" She asked, standing behind her seat.

She wanted to make sure that everyone had what they wanted before she began eating.

"No I'm good, luv." He responded.

In truth, John wouldn't tell Wanda he needed anything even if he did. She was always the one to cook, she was always the last one to be seated at meals and she was always the one left to do clean up. He would never ask her of anything that he could do himself.

Nodding, Wanda seated herself next to him and began eating.

"Damn." She muttered a second later.

"What?" Pietro asked.

"I forgot to put some tea on." She sighed, putting her fork down and preparing to leave the table.

In all the hustle and bustle of breakfast, she had forgotten to get her _own_ drink before sitting down.

"I'll get it." John offered, getting up from his seat.

"No John. You eat, I'll get it." Wanda insisted, but John just shook his head and motioned for her to stay seated while he fixed her tea.

When John finally got back to the table, Wanda smiled and quietly thanked him.

"I appreciate it, John." She whispered and, looking around to make sure that no one was watching, kissed him on the cheek.

John smiled, blushed a bit and muttered a soft _'your welcome'_ before returning to his own meal. Neither of them noticed a pair of amused green eyes and two, less than enthused, blue eyes staring at them from across the table.

* * *

_There is chapter three, it's short and there's not much action in it, but hopefully this chapter gives a little insight to how the Brotherhood live now and how things are run at the house. Besides, this chapter is the chapter that kind of starts things between John and Pietro and makes problems for John and Wanda. Shopping chapter up next so please stay tuned. I hope you all see fit to review and have a wonderful day. _

_-anon goddess_ **;)**


	4. Shopping, Jealousy and Invites

_Daughter of Destruction _

**Disclaimer:** I do** NOT** own X-Men, X-Men Evolution, the characters, the Hellfire Club or the House of M concept. That belongs to Marvel as everyone already knows.

**Notes:** I would like to thank Valkyrien and LadyMageLuna for reviewing. You guys are wonderful. V, I especially hope that you enjoy it since you've been waiting for it and I'm not too sure about it. lol.

* * *

_Chapter Four: Shopping, Jealousy and Invites_

_The Mall..._

It was only after breakfast and her shower that Wanda remembered that she had promised to take Laura shopping for new clothes. After quickly checking the mail box and finding that Xavier had sent them their monthly grocery money, the Brotherhood decided to make a day of it. The boys would go grocery shopping while the girls went in search of clothes. That was how the Brotherhood found themselves in the center of the mall, Wanda standing in the middle the boys, making sure that everyone knew what they were supposed to do and that they would be on their best behavior.

"Pietro, you have the shopping list, right?" Wanda asked, looking towards her brother.

Pietro gave an affirmative nod and held up said list as she looked to the next Brotherhood boy.

"John, you're going to be on your best behavior, right?"

"As always, luv."

"That means no fire creatures." She reminded.

John put on a look of mock hurt at her lack of faith but nodded none the less.

"Freddy, Todd, you're not going to run off to the food court and leave everyone, right?"

Both boys nodded, huge grins on their faces.

"I mean it you two. I don't want to get paged by the mall cop again." She said sternly.

Freddy looked away sheepishly but Todd just grinned back at her.

"We promise we won't get into any trouble, poopsie."

Wanda shuddered at the nickname but nodded anyway.

"Lance, you promise to keep everyone in line, right?" She asked, eyes shooting to Lance and a hopeful look on her face.

Lance flashed her a handsome grin and said: "Everything will be fine Wanda. Just go off with Laura and relax."

"I just want to make sure you guys are taken care of. You have my number if someone goes missing and I've got my phone on just in case." She reminded, kissing her brothers cheek.

Pietro kissed her back and watched as she went to each Brotherhood boy and reiterated the rules of being in public. After talking with each boy, she gave them a kiss and Pietro watched silently, analyzing how each member responded to her. Each kiss was different and conveyed a different meaning.

Todd kissed her right in the middle of her cheek and lingered for a moment, treasuring the time he had with her while Freddy kissed her forehead in a loving, protective and brotherly manner.

John's kiss landed on the corner of her mouth, closer to her lips than the rest to show her that he felt more than friendship, but not so close as to be obvious to the others. The secret meaning of his gesture could be interpreted in various ways but Pietro didn't miss how the kiss was meant to be taken.

Lastly was Lance's kiss. Wanda and Lance's relationship was special and complicated and their kiss showed that. Lance's lips fell to her left temple, not on her cheek as a brother or shy crush would kiss, not on her forehead like a protector and not close to her mouth like a lover. His kiss was different than all the rest in that he felt more than friendship for her, but not the feelings of love that John felt. Lance loved Wanda, but it was a special love, a love that none of the Brotherhood could explain, nor tried to.

Pietro smiled as John's eyes narrowed at the time Lance was taking with bidding Wanda a happy shopping trip. Pietro instantly knew that John was jealous and it made him happy. In Pietro's mind, no man would be good enough for Wanda. She was his other half, his twin and no one would ever deserve her but if she was going to settle on one of the Brotherhood boys, Pietro would rather it be Lance than John.

John was a good guy and Pietro's friend, but Pietro knew how he was with girls. He was a ladies man, much like Pietro himself, the only difference was that Pietro had found a girl to make him settle down. A girl he wanted to be faithful to and Pietro feared that John would never find that.

Lance, on the other hand, took great care with his girlfriends. Lance had the ability and good looks to be a ladies man, but he chose not to and that alone spoke volumes to Pietro. Plus, Pietro wasn't blind to the bond Lance and Wanda had formed, they had even tried dating before Lance and Kitty got back together.

Pietro's thoughts were broken as Wanda stepped away from Lance and turned towards the group.

"Alright. Be good while Laura and I go shopping and Pietro?" Wanda addressed, glaring at her brother.

"Yeah?" Pietro gulped.

"Don't be macho. Take the bags to the car instead of carrying them around the mall like last time."

"Right-o sister dear." Pietro agreed, giving her a mock salute.

"Lance, I'm leaving you in charge so make sure they're behaving and no powers." Wanda reminded, fixing Lance with stern look before Laura latched herself onto Wanda's arm and pulled her deeper into the mall.

Lance sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he watched them go.

"It's like she doesn't trust me." He muttered, snatching the grocery list from Pietro.

"It's not that she doesn't trust you, personally. She doesn't trust any of us." Todd assured, patting the older boy on the shoulder.

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" Lance questioned, glaring down at the younger boy.

Todd nodded and hopped along behind the others, who had already started off in the direction of a grocery store.

"Todd, no hopping. Walk normal." Lance called after him, shaking his head and looking over the list as John fell into step with him.

"So, mate, what were you and Wanda talking about so long?" John asked, eyes scanning Lance's face for signs of lying.

"Nothing much, just going over the rules. You know, sometimes I think she puts me on the same level as the rest of you." Lance stated. "No offense or anything but we just have a lot of history together. You understand." He added after a moment.

"Yeah, right." John murmured, watching as Lance caught up with the rest of the Brotherhood.

* * *

_Clothing Store..._

"So," Laura started, looking through a rack of clothes. "You wanna tell me what happened with John?"

Wanda sighed and said: "Why can't you have short term memory loss or something?"

Laura shrugged.

"Probably because this is interesting and I'm anxious to know what happened. I mean you don't seriously expect me to believe that you and John just innocently slept together after that little display in the kitchen, do you?" She asked, incredulously.

"Yes I do, actually. Nothing happened and that's the truth." Wanda protested, stopping her own search through the racks of clothing and fixing Laura with a glare.

"What about, _'The_ _reason my night was so peaceful came downstairs'_?" Laura inquired in a bad Australian accent.

Wanda doubled over with laughter.

"He was probably just tired. You know men spout random things when affected by fatigue."

"Well forgive me if I don't believe you. That man was blissfully happy when he walked into that kitchen and I want to know why."

"Well I'm sorry to burst your bubble but I don't know. We did nothing but share the same bed. It was completely innocent. You're supposed to be able to sniff out lies, right? Well what's your sniffer tellin' you now?" Wanda asked, leaning against a table with folded sweaters on it.

Laura lifted her head and sniffed for a second, gaining many strange looks from other customers.

"You're telling the truth. I never would have believed it if I didn't smell it with my own nose. How in the world does just sharing a bed make a man that happy? It takes a whole lot more than that to make Pietro grin that way, that's for sure." Laura said, holding up a blue t-shirt at which Wanda just shook her head.

"First off, eww. That's my brother we're talking about here. Secondly, you lie. Pietro comes downstairs with that grin on his face all the time and you guys can't be having that much sex; I don't care how fast he is. Lastly, case closed. This conversation is getting very uncomfortable for me so I request a topic change." Wanda stated, turning back to the clothes rack.

"Topic change request granted." Laura obliged, picking up another blue top and holding it up to herself.

"Laura, that's almost the exact same top you held up a second ago. I'm telling you, it's ugly." Wanda laughed. "Put it back and let's try some jean hunting first."

Laura nodded and putting the top back, followed Wanda to a table with piles of jeans on it.

"Oh, new topic. What about that look John gave you and Lance when you guys were talking?" Laura asked, sifting through the jeans.

"What are you talking about?" Wanda asked, hands on hips. "There was no look."

"There was a look; you just didn't see it because you and Lance were so focused on each other." Laura laughed, giving Wanda a suggestive look. "You know, Pietro was so crushed when Lance got back with Kitty. He had such high hopes for you and Lance."

Wanda snorted in a very un-lady like fashion and picked up a dark pair of jeans.

"My brother can hang his dreams of Lance and I up his ass. It's just not a good fit. Sure Lance and I like each other but we just can't be together. We tried, it didn't work and Pietro should get over it."

"I know but that doesn't change the fact that you guys looked good together. Still do in fact..." Laura trailed.

"Oh no! Lance is going out with Kitty, Kitty is my friend and I want Lance to be happy." Wanda argued, throwing the jeans she was holding back on the table.

"I was just kidding but seriously, don't you ever think about how it could have been?" Laura asked, searching Wanda's face for any traces of sadness or remorse. "Anyway, now that we're talking about it, I've just been dying to know...how good of a kisser is Lance?" She asked.

Wanda laughed and said: "If you don't stop talking about me and John and me and Lance you're never going to buy anything."

"I'll take that as a sign that he was pretty damn good. Ooo, what about these?" Laura asked holding up a light pair of jeans, almost identical to her ruined ones.

Wanda could only nod as she laughed at the younger girls' short attention span.

* * *

_the Middle of the Mall..._

Hours later after everyone was finished with their respective shopping, the Brotherhood met back up in the middle of the mall.

"How did everything go?" Wanda asked, directing her question at Lance, but answering was open to anyone who was willing to speak up.

"Fine." Lance replied, slinging an arm around her. "How was clothes shopping?" He asked.

"Murder. I swear Laura has the worst taste in clothes." She answered, handing hers and Laura's bags to Pietro, who quickly rushed them to the car and rushed back in mere seconds.

"Speaking of which, where is Laura?" Pietro asked, looking around worriedly.

"No worries, dear brother. She's in the bathroom." Wanda assured, leaning into Lance.

She was dead tired. Laura had dragged her in and out of every shop in the entire mall.

"Who's in the bathroom?" Laura asked, coming up behind the group and startling Wanda, who had just closed her eyes.

"You. Everyone ready to go home?" Wanda asked. "I'm beat."

Taking a look around the group, Wanda gathered that everyone hated shopping days just as much as she did.

"Yeah, yo." Todd said. "Lance was like a game warden."

Wanda looked up at Lance and smiled.

"I knew I left you in charge for a reason."

"Hey, Lance. Isn't that your little sheila with her team, mate?" John asked, nodding to the group of X-men behind Lance and Wanda.

"Yeah. I'll be back in a second guys." He said, looking behind him and untangling himself from Wanda.

"Ugh." Wanda groaned. "No, I need to go talk to Wolverine." She sighed. "We're supposed to keep in touch and talk about our teams and stuff."

"Come on, then." Lance told her, laughing at her obvious displeasure at the idea.

"Alright. You guys go out to the car; we'll be out in a sec." Wanda ordered, as Lance took her hand and steered her away from the Brotherhood and towards the X-men.

John sighed as he watched them go. He had wanted to get Wanda away from Lance, not sent them off down the mall together.

"Hey, Kitty." Lance greeted, wrapping his arms around the startled girl.

"Lance!" Kitty squealed.

She had been so occupied with something that Rogue was telling her that she hadn't seen Lance approach.

"Hey, Rogue." Wanda started. "Where's Wolverine, I saw him over here just a second ago."

"Need something, red?" A gruff voice asked from Wanda's left.

Lance's attention went from Kitty to Wanda in a matter of seconds. Even though they were on the same team, Lance didn't really like how Wolverine treated Wanda. He always acted like she was some second rate leader, like she wasn't good enough when Lance thought Wanda was the best leader around. Sure Pietro helped with decisions and other issues, but Wanda was the main leader, Pietro was just in it for the title.

"Just coming over here to be friendly, Wolverine. I mean we are on the same team now." Wanda replied smoothly, inspecting her nails.

"Speakin' of teams, did you know that Magneto was working with the Hellfire club?" Wolverine asked, walking away from some of the younger X-men.

"Yeah, I did. Sabretooth told us." Wanda informed, following Wolverine to a set of drink machines.

Wolverine growled and turned on Wanda.

"What do you mean you found out from Sabretooth? What business do you have with Creed?"

Suddenly the ground started to shake, not much, but Wolverine got the point.

Wanda looked over to Lance, who had stepped away from Kitty to be closer to the conversation, and gave him a warning look.

"Listen Wolverine, I know that you have bad blood with Creed, but you don't run my team. I have an agreement with Sabretooth and as you might have noticed, he hasn't been with the Acolytes on any of their recent raids."

Wolverine growled low in his throat and said: "That doesn't mean anything; he's still a part of their team."

"I know he is. Who better to associate with than someone in direct contact with the enemy?" Wanda asked, slyly. "I've made a deal with Creed and he's been good on his word so far."

"Yeah? And what deal do you and Creed have that made him betray Magneto?" Wolverine asked gruffly.

"That's none of your business, not right now at least. All you need to know is that he's acting as a double agent right now. He's informed me that Magneto has been talking with Sebastian Shaw a lot lately." Wanda said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"About what?" Wolverine asked, eyebrow raised.

"About us. _All_ of us." She informed. "The Hellfire Club currently has information on every mutant under Charles Xavier's protection. That includes my Brotherhood."

Wolverine sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Anything else?"

"Not that I know of. I will keep you posted, though." Wanda assured, walking back in the direction of the X-men, signaling that their private discussion was over. "Kitty, what do you say to staying over at the Hood House this weekend?" Wanda asked, smiling at the younger girl and trying to shake off the seriousness of her talk with Wolverine.

"You mean all weekend?" Kitty asked, eyes sparkling.

"Yeah. I mean everyone has been so busy lately that you and Lance haven't had any time together so, why not stay the weekend. That will give you two a chance to catch up and you and me some girl talk time." Wanda explained as Wolverine stepped up to protest.

"No way, half pint. You're not stayin' in the same house as Rocky over there." He growled, glaring in Lance's direction.

"She will if she wants to, Wolverine. Kitty is always welcome at the Brotherhood house, besides it's not like she'll be alone. Laura and I will be there and Kitty can stay in my room." Wanda assured, stepping between Lance and Wolverine as a precaution.

"Come on, Logan. Let the girl have fun." Rogue spoke up.

Wolverine looked around unsurely before saying: "Alright, but you're staying in one of the girls rooms and I want you to call and check in."

Kitty squealed and hugged Wolverine, before rushing to hug Wanda.

"Like, thanks Wanda. You don't know how much this means to me."

"It's alright, Kitty." Wanda told her, patting her on the back awkwardly. "Come on, if you're done here you can ride with us home and Pietro can go pick your stuff up at the mansion later on."

Kitty looked over to Wolverine, who nodded and said: "Remember, half pint. You call and check in."

Kitty nodded and started walking to the parking lot with Lance.

Wanda was about to leave as well until she saw the look on Rogue's face.

"They still haven't forgiven me, have they?" Rogue asked.

Wanda sighed and looked down at her feet.

"Come on; be straight with me, Wanda. Lance wouldn't even look at me."

"Alright, Rogue." Wanda started, walking closer to the southerner. "You want the truth? You hurt them bad. They loved you; you were their family until you left without one word. No, they're not the best guys in the world, but they cared about you and you betrayed them and I think it's pretty rotten of you to expect better treatment after everything you put them through. So no, they haven't forgiven you." Wanda growled out before turning and stalking away, leaving a remorseful mutant in her wake.

* * *

_OK, there's chapter four and I hope everyone likes it because it feels like it took me forever to write. Please review and I'll try to update again very soon. _

_Have a great day._

_-anon goddess_ **;)**


	5. the Rules of the Hood House

_Daughter of Destruction_

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own X-men Evolution, X-men, the characters, the Hellfire club or the House of M concept. Duh, duh, duh...MARVEL!

**Notes:** A special thank you to Valkyrien and LadyMageLuna. You are both wonderful ladies and I love reading your input.

* * *

_Chapter Five: The Rules of the Hood House_

_Brotherhood Kitchen..._

Wanda sighed as she stood over by the stove, waiting for the water in front of her to boil. Sometimes it seemed like all she ever did was cook. Not that she didn't enjoy it, but she would like to be doing other things. For instance, Pietro and Laura were out on a date tonight, their fourth this week! Not saying that Wanda had anyone to date, but it would be nice for her nights to be open so she would at least have the option should she decide to.

"Like, what are you cooking?" Kitty asked, startling the older girl at the stove.

"Tonight it's spaghetti but right now, I'm boiling water for the noodles. Come over here, Kitty and see if this sauce I made tastes right." Wanda instructed, getting a spoon from a nearby bowl and holding it in the air with her hand underneath it.

Kitty, glowing with happiness at being treated as part of the Hood, practically skipped over to Wanda and eagerly tasted the sauce offered to her.

"Mmm, that's good. You're, like, a wonderful cook, Wanda." Kitty praised, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"Thanks. Where's Lance? I thought you two would be all over each other by now." Wanda asked, smirking at the blush that covered Kitty's face.

"Oh, he's in the living room watching some hockey game with the others. Women always take a backseat to sports, you know that." Kitty laughed.

Wanda joined in her laughter before saying: "True, but hockey is a wonderful sport. It's probably the only sport I can really get into besides baseball."

"You watch sports?" Kitty asked incredulously.

"When you live in a house full of guys, you have to learn to get into _something_. With them, it's either sports or girls." Wanda laughed, turning away from the pot on the stove and looking at Kitty. "Actually, I'm glad you're in here, there are some things I want to talk to you about."

Kitty's smile faded at the seriousness in Wanda's tone and Wanda chuckled at the girls down trodden look.

"Don't be so down, it's nothing bad. You just haven't been here in a while and things have changed. I just want to go over some things with you so you feel more comfortable here." Wanda explained, taking the seat in front of Kitty, facing the stove.

Kitty nodded and scooted up to the table.

"First, there's the subject of me and Lance." Wanda started. "I know Lance told you that we tried dating during one of your many relationship hiatus's."

"Wanda, you don't have to talk about this if you don't want to. It's really none of my business." Kitty assured, but Wanda just shook her head.

"I _want_ to tell you so that maybe you will understand our relationship a bit better. The first thing I want you to know is that Lance and I didn't stop going out because of you. We just weren't meant to be together and I want you to know that you have absolutely nothing to worry about between Lance and me." Wanda told her, reaching over and taking Kitty's hand. "Lance is my very best friend and I consider you my friend as well. I want nothing but your happiness and I want you to know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that nothing is going on between Lance and me."

Kitty smiled at Wanda before saying: "I know that, Wanda. I consider you my friend as well and I know that you would never do anything like that."

"The reason I want you to know this, though, is because the Brotherhood is a very...friendly group." Wanda stated, searching for the right words. "When we feel great affection for each other, we let everyone know whether it be by kissing one another on the cheek or curling up with each other on the couch. Just because we're close, doesn't mean a relationship is forming, though." Wanda explained, letting go of Kitty's hand so that she could fold her own on top of the table. "That brings me to my next point. Since we're all very friendly, we're also a little physical. It's not uncommon for me or Laura to get into a wrestling match with one of the guys, one of them coming into the bathroom while Laura and I are taking a shower or for the guys to randomly come up behind one of us and smack us on the butt. It's just our way. I want you to be aware so that you don't turn around and clock someone. If one of the guys comes up and pats you on the bottom, take it as a compliment. The guys don't really take too well to outsiders and being affectionate with you is just their way of saying you're one of us. The Brotherhood protects their own, so you have no need to feel unsafe here."

Kitty nodded, smiling every now and again at Wanda's choice of words.

"Everyone sits down and eats breakfast and dinner together unless someone has a date. Lunches are your own, but we try to be as much of a family as we can and that includes you when you come over. The guys like you and you, Laura and I are friends. We want you to feel at home here, we want you to be welcome." Wanda stated, smiling. "This next topic might be uncomfortable for you, because I know you and Rogue are friends, but the guys don't talk about her at all. Nothing personal on her but to them, she was family and when she left, she committed the ultimate betrayal so they don't like to talk about her much. Another thing, I lied when I told Wolverine that I would make sure you stayed in my room because I know how much you and Lance missed each other. You can stay in his room all weekend if you'd like and Wolverine never has to know. I promise Lance will behave himself the way a perfect gentleman should, unless you tell him not to and that's your own business, my dear. Now I think that's just about everything unless you want to talk about something specific." Wanda finished, looking over the young girls face.

Kitty looked a bit floored. She had just been told a lot and it was a lot to take in but after a minute she looked at Wanda and smiled.

"No, I think I've got everything. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Wanda. I really appreciate how you guys have treated me."

"Oh, you're family. I thought we already covered this." Wanda laughed, smiling as she got up and went back over to the stove and the now boiling water.

"Can I ask you something, though?" Kitty asked after a moment.

"Shoot."

"How did you and Lance start going out, if that's not too personal?"

Wanda, now placing spaghetti noodles in the water, didn't miss a beat in what she was doing as she answered the question.

"When Magneto put false memories into my head, I was happy. The Brotherhood didn't inform me of it because they wanted me to be a happier person and more importantly, they thought I'd leave if I knew. For a while I _was_ very happy, never thinking a negative thought but soon, I began to feel empty and I guess the guys noticed. They went round and round about who would tell me when they decided that it would probably be best if the whole team was there. One day they sat me down in the living room, Todd and Freddy sitting across from each other in the chairs by the coffee table, while Pietro and Laura sat on one side of me on the couch and John sat on the other. Lance was the one who got down on my level. He was the one who got on his knees in front of me, took my hands and told me everything. When I thought about leaving, Lance was there to stop me and to assure me that I was loved and needed. When I was about to kill the Brotherhood and Pietro for withholding information from me, Lance made sure that no one got hurt. Lance was there for me and he and John helped me through it all. Then one day Lance asked me out and I accepted. Soon, though, we decided that it wouldn't work between us and broke it off peacefully. About a month later, you and Lance reconciled and that was the end of it." Wanda explained, still tending to the spaghetti noodles.

"Wow." Kitty started. "I never knew you and Lance were that tight."

"Not many X-men do. No offense, of course, but the X-men don't really spend too much time wondering about us. They send us money every month for expenses and they talk in a semi-friendly manner in public places but that's about it." Wanda said, not a hint of bitterness in her tone.

"Wanda?" Kitty asked after a minute.

"Yeah?" Wanda answered, distractedly.

"Do you still love Lance?"

Wanda was silent for a moment, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable; quite the contrary. It was a very peaceful and friendly silence, a companionable one even.

"Yes." Wanda stated after a moment. "But not in the way you think." She added, a minute later. "Lance and I have a special love. It's not a friend love, because it's much deeper than that but at the same time, it's not the sibling type love that Pietro and I share. It's not love-love, either, though. I think I already have someone who's occupying that love and we both know that Lance does. It's hard to explain, but not for lack of wanting to..." Wanda trailed.

"Don't worry; I think I know what you mean." Kitty interrupted, smiling. "I think Kurt and I have the same relationship that you and Lance have." She assured.

"Then you understand. You would never think of having a relationship with him, for fear of ruining what you have already. Your current relationship is too precious to risk." Wanda explained, laughing as Kitty nodded eagerly.

"Yup, I know exactly what you mean. In fact, I had to have this same conversation with Amanda. She was about to break up with Kurt over me!" Kitty exclaimed, bursting into peals of laughter. "You know, I never thought it would be this easy to talk to your boyfriends ex."

"Sometimes, people and situations surprise you." Wanda laughed, turning off the stove and instantly making herself busy with preparing dinner.

* * *

_Brotherhood House, Second Floor; Sometime After Dinner..._

Wanda yawned as she got ready to turn in for the night. It had been a long day but everyone was safe and in bed. Everyone but her.

Kitty and Lance had retreated to Lance's room earlier in the night and Pietro and Laura still weren't back from their date. Freddy and Todd has stayed up and watched T.V. while Wanda cleaned the kitchen but left for bed when she did. John was the only one that was currently MIA. It was like he had just disappeared after dinner.

Deciding that she wasn't going to get a good night's sleep if she didn't know what happened to him, and maybe not even then, she put her robe on and quietly left her room to search for him.

Reaching his door, Wanda knocked lightly and waited patiently until the door opened. When it did, Wanda was greeted by a very handsome, but less than enthused Australian.

"Can I come in?" She asked, noticing his weird behavior.

He was cold and standoffish unlike the other night when she had showed up at his door, when he had been friendly and had eagerly granted her entrance to his living space.

John, who had been standing directly in front of the doorway, moved stiffly to the side and begrudgingly allowed the young woman to enter.

"So, where did you go after dinner?" Wanda asked softly.

John greeted her question with a glare and narrowed eyes.

"I came up here." He replied shortly.

Wanda, shocked at his behavior, nodded slowly and wrapped her arms around herself in a protective manner.

"Oh." She said lamely.

Silence followed and unlike her silence with Kitty earlier, this silence was hostile and attacking. This silence chilled her usually warm body to the bone and made goose flesh appear on her skin. This type of quiet was uneasy, especially in the presence of John who was usually so fun and loving with her.

"Are you mad at me or something?" Wanda asked in a very un-Wanda like voice.

John's blue eyes shot to her, quickly growing disinterested in whatever had previously been occupying their attention.

"What would I be mad about?" He questioned in a strained voice.

"I don't know. I don't_ think _I've done anything wrong." Wanda defended, getting meeker as the minutes passed.

It was very out of character for Wanda to be afraid or at all cautious about anything but where John was concerned, anything was possible. John, much like Lance, had become a quick and steady fixture in her life. Wanda felt differently for John than she did for Lance, though. When Wanda had expressed to Kitty that she might be in love earlier, she wasn't kidding and it hurt Wanda to think that John would be mad at her. Especially if she didn't know what it was that she was supposed to have done wrong.

"You just seem very short with me and I was wondering if it was something I did or..." Wanda started, trailing as her thoughts failed her.

"No, I'm not mad. Why don't you go to _Avalanche _and see if he can help you get over it, though." John bit off, saying more than he had originally intended.

Wanda's eyes widened and a small gasp escaped her lips.

"Is that what this is all about?" She asked quietly, running her hands through her long, straight hair. "Is this about Lance?"

John huffed and pushed past her, stalking over to the window.

"I heard you and Kitty talking in the kitchen. You still love him, I get it." John whispered his anger so strong that if he spoke any louder he would snap and do something he would regret.

Once his words registered, Wanda quickly shed her meek attitude and became defensive and angry.

"So you were eavesdropping?" She yelled.

John quickly turned from the window; eyes blazing with more anger and hurt than Wanda had ever seen expressed in one man.

"Yes, I was eavesdropping. That doesn't make up for the fact that you lead me on, though. You came in here and played around with me, seeking comfort knowing that I would help you in any way I could because of how I feel for you. You played me, Wanda!" John yelled, stalking up to her and grabbing her wrist.

Even though there was a battle raging between them, Wanda couldn't help but be amazed at how a man as angry as he was could have a touch so gentle in the heat of an argument.

"I did no such thing!" Wanda protested fiercely. "This is the first time that I've ever even heard about your feelings for me!" She yelled, yanking her arm from his firm, gentle grasp. "Oh and if you're going to make a habit of eavesdropping, I suggest you learn the ins and outs of the game first. Number one, you never admit to eavesdropping, even when you're caught red handed. Two, stay and listen to the entire conversation before you confront someone. Yes I said that I still loved Lance but if you had stayed and listened to what came after, you would know that it's not the kind of love you're thinking about!"

John stepped back at the fierceness of her tone and the weight of her words.

"If you had any sense at all you would know that I love you and in not so many words, that's exactly what I told Kitty this afternoon you overgrown creaton!" She exclaimed, pacing back and forth in front of him, arms flinging wildly. "I'm not sure what I'm more surprised about, the fact that you eavesdropped on a private conversation or the fact that you think have any right to shun me even if I did love Lance! I mean, who do you think you are just blowing me off and snapping at me without even knowing the whole truth? Yelling at me when I just came in here to check on you?" She yelled, stopping her pacing and walking straight up to him. Poking him in the chest, she continued. "You know what? I have half a mind to hex you into next century mister, especially after that little cold shoulder treatment you..."

In just a matter of seconds, the room was silent, where as before it had been filled with the sounds of an angry Romanian gypsy yelling at an unsuspecting, yet completely deserving, Australian.

Said Australian had been so shocked after the words "I love you" had escaped his companions mouth, that he had completely tuned out the rest of her rant until just seconds ago when he had seized her and kissed her fully and passionately.

Wanda, shocked at the abrupt end of her rant and the feel of John's lips, could only stand there, hands trapped between her body and John's as her lips were deliciously assaulted by the man in front of her. As soon as her senses came back to her, however, she could not stand idly by as John kissed her with more love than anyone had ever shown her in her entire lifetime. Her lips slowly started to move, tentative against John's powerful and undeterred passion.

As quickly as the assault began, it ended with John resting his forehead against Wanda's and breathing heavily.

"I love you too." He whispered between breaths.

Wanda smiled all her previous grievances with him forgotten under the weight of his declaration.

As the minutes passed and she stayed silent, not returning his words, the arms that held her waist tightly, squeezed her gently.

Laughing she said: "Do I really have to say it?"

John smiled, eyes bright and nodded, looking very much like a child at Christmas.

"I love you, John." Wanda whispered, releasing her arms from their temporary prison between them and bringing them to rest around John's neck. "I love you so much and nothing will ever change that." She muttered, leaning up and kissing him.

* * *

_CHAPTER FIVE!!! w00t! Go me. I'm updating like crazy, but it's up to you guys, as readers, to tell me whether my quick updates are a good thing or not. Did you like it, hate it; think my fingers should be chopped off for typing something so horrendous? Whichever one you chose, please remember to be constructive and try not to make me cry too much. We haven't heard much from the Hellfire Club lately, so there will be an appearance from them soon and don't fret my drama lovers, the drama is not over yet! Please stay tuned for the next chapter and I hope you all have a wonderful day. _

_-anon g._ **;)**


	6. Meetings and Letters

_Daughter of Destruction _

**Disclaimer:** I do** NOT **own X-men Evolution, X-men, the characters, the Hellfire Club or the House of M concept. That all belongs to those lucky devils at Marvel.

**Notes:** A special thanks goes out to Valkyrien who reviewed for the last chapter. You're wonderful and you know it!

* * *

_Chapter Six: Meetings and Letters_

_the Hellfire Club, Sebastian Shaw's Office..._

"You want to do what?" A voice sighed, obviously irritated.

"We want someone to kill Agatha Harkness." Emma replied, staring at Shaw evenly.

"What do you mean _'we'_? I'm still not convinced this is the best idea. _I_ think we should keep the old bird around as long as we can." Selene chimed in, slinking low in her seat as Sebastian Shaw's eyes flicked to her.

"I hate to say it, but I agree with Selene on this one." Tessa spoke up from beside Shaw. "If we kill Agatha and it turns out that someone can't control the Scarlet Witch, we've doomed ourselves. Not to mention the rest of the mutant population. This is a bad idea, Shaw." The young woman advised.

A scoff came from the back of the room and everyone's eyes turned towards the noise.

"You can't stop Agatha from dying. She's an old woman, in case none of you have noticed. This will happen eventually." Destiny laughed.

"Yeah, but we don't need to be rushing to our doom either." Selene muttered.

"If Destiny says it will happen, it will. All we have to do is decide what course of action we're going to take. Are we going to kill Agatha in hopes that we can control the Scarlet Witch's power, or are we going to prepare ourselves and simply wait until fate decides to take care of her for us?" Mystique asked from her seat between Destiny and Magneto.

Magneto's eyes seemed to be constantly on the move, shifting from Emma to Selene to Tessa then to Shaw. He was waiting for a plan to be thought out but he didn't seem to be in any hurry to provide information on his daughter. He seemed to be having mixed feelings about the entire conversation altogether.

"I vote we take care of Agatha ourselves. That way we decide when and how." Emma stated, looking directly at Shaw.

"Emma, if you weren't so impatient and simple minded you would see the bigger picture. If we do this ourselves, there's no telling what will happen. If we set off the girls insanity, she could end up altering, not only the x-gene in millions of mutants, but she could potentially end up altering the entire universe. The worst part is we don't know if we'll even be conscious of the whole thing." Tessa explained calmly. "I've done extensive study on each of Xavier's children and Wanda Maximoff's powers work in mysterious ways. They're not just mutant powers, there's gypsy mysticism mixed in as well. This girl can wield magic! That coupled with the sheer power of her mutant abilities is dangerous. This isn't a game Emma; we're talking about not only the fate of mutants, but the fate of the world. Would you have us risk the future of humanity because you want to play some little game?"

Emma was silent for a moment before saying: "You know what your problem is, _Tessie_?"

"That you call me Tessie?"

"Cute, real cute but I'm serious. Your problem is you don't take enough chances." Emma stated, and then turned her attention back to Shaw. "Sebastian, think about it. We could be putting mutants as rulers of the world here. No more anti-mutant protests. No more prejudice against us! We have a chance to make mutants the dominant species, are we really in a position to pass that up because of some what if?"

Shaw said nothing; he just leaned back in his chair as if in deep thought.

"A very big what if." Tessa started. "You're still not seeing the bigger picture here, _Frosty_."

Emma narrowed her eyes at the nickname but listened anyway.

"Not only are Wanda's powers dangerous but they're unpredictable. If you think you're going to be able to control the girl, you've got to be out of your twisted little mind. She's hardly fairing against her powers and she's been living with these powers for years. As inexperienced as we are with probability altering, we could end up doing more damage than good. Besides, one death can't make her go crazy. Not saying that Destiny didn't see it or that it's wrong, but there has to be more to the story than one woman's funeral." Tessa reasoned.

All eyes turned to Destiny, looking to the blind woman for any kind of hint or something they might be missing.

"I have not seen anything else but that doesn't mean Tessa isn't correct in her reasoning." Destiny admitted, sensing everyone's stare. "My visions come in pieces so I don't know the whole story. I do know, however, that what I have seen will come to pass. It is inevitable."

With that, Destiny rose from her seat, Mystique rising with her, and left the room.

Mastermind, who had been silently listening to everything from his position next to a very quiet and solemn looking Sabretooth, chose now to speak his peace.

"I agree with Destiny. There are many ways to interpret her vision but one thing is certain, we must be prepared."

All was silent for a while with everyone looking around and thinking different things. In the end, the only opinion that mattered was Shaw's. What he said went and if he said no, the subject would be dropped, never to be brought up again.

"This is a serious and important topic that I must think upon. I will give myself a week to come to a decision. In the mean time, I want business to go as usual. No preparations will be made until my decision is made, is that clear?" Shaw asked, directing the last part of his statement more to Emma than anyone. "Now, Inner Circle, be ready to leave in mere hours. Magneto, I'm placing you in charge until we get back from business."(1)

Everyone nodded in understanding before leaving the office. In a matter of seconds, the only people left were Shaw and Tessa.

* * *

_Brotherhood House..._

When Wanda woke up the next morning, she felt a heavy weight on top of her. Groaning and opening her eyes, squinting against the little beam of light that filtered through the curtain, Wanda saw that John's body was the weight she felt. He was sprawled on top of her, both fully clothed, and his head rested on her bosom. His arms were wrapped tightly around her waist and if she was very quiet, she could hear the little sounds of light snoring.

Wanda laughed a little and covered her eyes with her arm, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. Sleep, however, must not have been in the cards for Wanda, for just as she thought she might drift back into peaceful unconsciousness, a loud banging on the front door of the boarding house roused not only her, but her sleeping companion as well.

Shushing John and telling him to go back to sleep, Wanda settled back against the pillows, content with John acting as her blanket and taking for granted that Laura, as an early riser, would get the door.

As the seconds passed, however, Wanda found this to not be the case and moving John as little as she could, Wanda got up from the bed, grabbed her robe and silently left the room.

"I'm coming!" She yelled as she reached the living room, hoping that whoever was on the other side of the door would hear her and cease knocking.

When she finally reached the door and opened it, she was surprised to find that the person standing on the stoop was a young boy, most likely only a few years younger than Laura and Kitty's seventeen years.

"Can I help you?" Wanda asked politely, quickly losing her irritation at seeing the shy look on the younger boys face.

"I have two letters here, one for a Ms. Maximoff and one addressed to _'The Brotherhood'_." The boy told her, showing her the second letter with the team name scrawled across the front in sloppy writing that Wanda instantly recognized.

There were no addresses on either of the envelopes, so Wanda assumed that this boy was merely a messenger.

"I'm Wanda Maximoff and this is the Brotherhood House." Wanda said.

The boy nodded and offered the envelopes to her and turned, preparing to leave.

"Wait." Wanda called.

The boy turned back around and waited as instructed while Wanda rushed back in the house, coming back a second later with twenty dollars in her hand.

"Here and thank you." She said, smiling warmly at the boy who flushed red and stammered a _'your welcome'_ before leaving.

When Wanda got back in the house and went to the living room, preparing to read her letter, she found five pairs of eyes staring at her.

"Who was that?" Pietro asked, sitting beside a sleepy looking Laura on the couch.

"Some messenger." Wanda replied, holding up the envelope addressed to everyone, while she covertly slid the one addressed to her in the pocket of her robe. "What are you guys doing up? When I came downstairs, you were all still sleeping." She inquired, eyebrow raised.

"I was already awake, but being lazy and lying in bed and the noise woke Laura. You know how sensitive her ears are." Pietro replied.

"Kitty and I were basically up since we got to bed early." Lance replied from the chair at one end of the coffee table. Wanda had to do a double take to find him, for Kitty, who was sitting on his lap, was obstructing her view.

Wanda nodded at both explanations and looked expectantly at John who looked down and scratched the back of his neck.

"Same as Lance and Kitty." He muttered, sitting down in the chair opposite the couple in question.

Both of Wanda's eyebrows shot up at his words, for she knew the real truth, but decided to speak nothing of it and instead moved to sit on the arm of his chair.

All eyes were on her as she stuck a perfectly manicured, red nail under the flap of the envelope and tore it open. After a moment of reading, Wanda put the letter back in the envelope and stuck it in her pocket.

"Sabretooth says that the major members of the Hellfire Club are going to be away on business for a few days and that now would be the perfect time to check out the strip-dance club and get a feel for the place." Wanda announced, looking over the faces of her team.

"Great, why don't we go tonight?" Lance suggested.

Wanda stayed silent for a moment before she spoke again.

"That's a good idea but it also brings us to a problem. The last time we talked about this, we were at a crossroads for whom to bring. Todd and Freddy had already volunteered to stay home but I wanted to bring John and Pietro didn't. Now Kitty, this isn't your fight but I'm offering to give you a spot on this mission if you want it. You'll not only be there as an advocate for the X-men, but you'll go with Lance and bring us to an even three couples. It's nothing dangerous, we're just going to be scouting tonight but just so there's no fuss about it later, if you decide you want to go, call Xavier and talk to him about it. I don't want it to seem like I'm going over Xavier's head." Wanda explained as the entire team looked to Kitty for an answer.

"I'd love to go." She said, smiling happily at being included. "I'll go call Xavier." She assured, getting off Lance's lap.

"Thank you, Kitty. Even if he doesn't want you to go, we appreciate your wanting to help. Make sure you talk to Xavier, though. I don't want Cyclops anywhere near this mission and make sure to give the phone to me before you hang up." Wanda instructed. "I don't want Xavier to think I'm leading you to your doom."

Kitty nodded and walked into the kitchen to call the mansion.

"Well, now that that's taken care of, you guys get cleaned up and I'll go make breakfast." Wanda ordered. "We'll go over the details with the _entire_ team after we eat." Wanda promised standing and following Kitty into the kitchen.

John watched her go as Laura, Pietro and Lance made their way upstairs. He wanted to talk to her, but he wasn't sure when or how to approach the subject. All he knew was that he had seen Wanda slip the other envelope into her pocket and he wanted to know what she was hiding.

When Wanda reached the kitchen, Kitty's short conversation with Xavier was winding down and Wanda could only guess that Xavier was the one to answer the phone, for anyone else would still be asking questions.

As soon as Kitty noticed Wanda's presence she said: "Oh, Professor, like Wanda's here and I know she wants to talk to you. Here she is." With those parting words to Xavier, Kitty held out the phone to Wanda.

"Hello, Professor Xavier...yes everything is fine...No, I just want to assure you that Kitty will be perfectly safe. I have on good word that the members of the club that would recognize us are away on business and this is just a scouting mission. She will not be put in any danger...I wouldn't have asked her to go if there was any doubt, Xavier...Alright...Yes, I will inform you when we get back...No matter how late it is...Right...Thank you, Professor...I'll tell her...Good-bye."

Wanda hung up the phone with a sigh and said: "Good lord, he sure can talk can't he?"

Kitty laughed and nodded.

"He wanted me to tell you that he hopes for your safety and wishes you well." Wanda repeated, smiling at the younger girl. "I really appreciate you doing this for us Kitty. It means a lot."

"Like, anytime you guys need me, I'm there. It's the least I can do for everything you guys have done for me." Kitty replied, hugging the taller girl before rushing off upstairs.

Wanda laughed at her energy and excitement before moving to sit at the kitchen table. Before she started on something as tedious as breakfast, Wanda wanted to know what Sabretooth had sent to her. Her and her alone. What was so important that it needed an entirely different envelope?

Filled with a deep dread, Wanda opened the envelope with shaking hands. Her shaking stopped and laughter soon took over as she read the first lines of the letter.

_Hey Kid,_

_Don't worry, this is nothing bad. I just have some things to tell you and I'm not sure if you want the rest of your team to know. (Especially that brother of yours.) The Acolytes had a meeting late last night with the Hellfire Club, don't worry, though. Everyone's gone now and the club is under Magneto's control for the moment. The meeting was about you, though, and I want you to watch yourself. It was about the vision Destiny had, the one I told you about, so just be on the look out for anything suspicious around you. I don't care what it is, just be on your guard. _

_Tell Laura that I miss her and I'll come see her soon. You hang in there and remember that I'm looking out for you. I know you're scared but just keep your head and stay calm. Nothing bad is going to happen, I promise. _

_-Creed_

There were tears rolling down Wanda's face as she folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. He was risking so much to communicate with her, knowing the price for betrayal of Magneto and the Hellfire Club. Not only that but they were meeting about her. They were preparing to come after her. Dreading it, but knowing it would have to be done sooner or later, Wanda mentally made plans to see Xavier during the upcoming week as she put the letter back in her pocket and rose to make breakfast. If anyone could help her and keep her business confidential, it would be him. Right now, however, Wanda had more important things to worry about, like getting through the night without any mishaps.

* * *

**Notes:**

_1. The Inner Circle is just a name given to the major players of the Hellfire Club; ie: Black King, Black Queen, White King, White Queen, etc. (For the lists of who's-who in the Inner Circle, revert to the section entitled: **What Happened Between Apocalypse and Now?** in the first chapter.) Just so everyone knows, I don't own the Inner Circle either. Marvel, Marvel, Marvel. _

* * *

_There's chapter six. I hope everyone enjoyed it and I hope you all see fit to review. Please stay tuned for the next chapter and I hope you all have a wonderful day. _

_-anon g. _**;)**

_*RIP Michael Jackson*  
__*RIP Farrah Fawcett*_


	7. Scouting Fun

_Daughter of Destruction _

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own X-men, X-men Evolution, the characters, the Hellfire Club or the House of M concept.

**Notes:** A special thanks to Valkyrien and LadyMageLuna who reviewed. You're both wonderful and I really don't know what I'd do without you two. A warning to Valkyrien; I know you said no Vicda, but I couldn't help it. Hope you don't hate me too much, it's only a little.

* * *

_Chapter Seven: Who Knew Scouting Could Be So Much Fun?_

_Brotherhood House..._

Wanda wrung her hands in apprehension as she stepped from her room and into the hallway to meet up with Kitty and Laura. They were about to leave for the Hellfire Club and Wanda found herself more nervous than she had ever been.

She was wearing a very revealing red bodice and her skirt, made in true gypsy fashion, was long and flowing with two slits up the sides, allowing for easy movement. Her long auburn, naturally straight hair was curled and plaited in a very complicated manner that only added to her gypsy look and her skin, so deeply tanned, was free of foundation but her eyes were painted heavily with smoky make up, giving her a mysterious appearance. However, it wasn't her clothes or her make-up that made her nervous. It was the Hellfire Club. Even though Victor had assured her that no one terribly important would be there, Wanda felt an anxiousness that stemmed from the single thought that she would come face to face with her father tonight. That was the very last thing she needed.

Wanda only waited a moment before Kitty and Laura joined her in the hall.

Laura's straight, brown hair was left naturally but her make-up was dark and heavy like Wanda's. She, much like Wanda, was wearing revealing clothes, donning a simple blue halter and a black mini skirt.

Kitty, however, felt entirely over dressed as she looked at her two companions. Kitty's outfit consisted of a hot pink tank top and tight blue jeans and her hair, left down, framed a face done up in light colors and natural looking make-up.

"Like, maybe I should change." Kitty spoke up, looking over both girls closely.

Wanda laughed and Laura shook her head.

"I actually think Wanda and I over did it a little." Laura told her, patting the shorter girl on the shoulder and steering her to the stairs. "I'm actually worried a little about you, Wanda."

"Me? Why me?" Wanda asked a strange look on her face.

"What do you think Pietro's gonna do when he sees you in that? It'd be different if you were in Romania but here, in the city, in a _club_? I think Pietro's gonna have a lot to say about your choice in attire." Laura explained with a laugh.

"What about you? You look just as...revealed as I do." Wanda told her, stumbling over her words.

"True but there's a difference here that you're forgetting. I'm his girlfriend, not his sister." Laura reminded with Kitty beside her, nodding in agreement.

Wanda rolled her eyes as they started to descend the stairs.

"I think you guys are overreacting. Everything is going to be fine. Besides, I'm nineteen. Pietro has absolutely no say in what I wear." Wanda stated firmly.

When the girls reached the living room where everyone was waiting, five sets of mouths dropped to the floor.

"Wow." Lance gulped.

"Luv you...wow." John added.

"Poopsie?"

"You three look beautiful." Fred complimented, blushing furiously.

"Absolutely not!" Pietro yelled. "Wanda, I demand that you go upstairs and change."

Wanda rolled her eyes and fought not to lose her temper.

"Pietro," She crooned, walking up to him. "You're my brother and I love you, but you can't tell me what to wear. We're going to a strip club, we have to fit in."

"You're fitting in a little too well." Pietro muttered, crossing his arms.

"It's cute that you care, Pie, but I'm a big girl now..." Wanda started.

"I can see that." Pietro interrupted, a deep scowl on his face.

"I can take care of my self, Pietro. Now wipe that look off your face, you want it to freeze that way?" She asked, pinching his cheek before giving it a kiss.

Pietro just glared at her but took Laura's arm and walked out of the living room saying: "Come on. We told Sabretooth we'd be there at eight and its eight thirty now."

Wanda laughed and shared a look with Kitty before walking over to Todd and Freddy.

"I want you two to be good and don't wait up." She told them. "There are leftovers from tonight in the refrigerator if you're hungry and if there are any problems, the guys have their phones."

Both boys nodded and Wanda smiled, kissing each of them before turning to John.

"Where are Kitty and Lance?" She asked.

"They went out to the car with Laura and Pietro." He replied, holding his hand out to her. "Ready to take their lead?"

Wanda nodded and took his hand, smiling a little to herself.

* * *

_Hellfire Club..._

The club was loud and dark. The only sufficient light in the entire club, as far as the public could see, was over the bar.

"I thought this was supposed to be a strip club. Where are the strippers?" Pietro asked, dumbly.

Laura rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the ribs while Wanda took the time to explain.

"It's a regular club to the public, stupid. The strip club is in the back."

"Like, where are we going to sit our stuff?" Kitty asked, taking off her coat. "I totally want to get on the dance floor." She said anxiously.

Lance looked around a moment before spotting an empty table in the back.

"There's a table back there." He shouted over the music and taking Kitty's hand, he led her and the rest of the group to the table.

They were further back than most of the other tables, so it wasn't as noisy and they had more room to talk freely. The table was also in the perfect spot, they had a clear view of the dance floor, not to mention the rest of the club.

"Hate to bail on you guys so early in the game, but I haven't danced in forever!" Kitty exclaimed and taking Lance's hand, she pulled him away from the table and to the dance floor.

Wanda laughed at the surprised look on Lance's face as Laura spoke.

"That poor guy. I wonder when Kitty's going to realize that Lance can't dance." She mused, watching the couple on the floor.

"I think Kitty's dancing well enough for the both of them." Wanda laughed, watching Kitty grind into Lance.

"I feel sorry for the bloke. He's gonna have one hell of a..." John started, but was quickly interrupted by Wanda.

"Eww!" She exclaimed. "I do not need a visual."

The table was silent for a while as everyone took their time to look around the club and become familiar with their surroundings. During this time, many men passed the table, yelling obscenities at both Laura and Wanda, earning themselves deadly glares from Pietro and John.

As Wanda became bored with looking around the club, her eyes turned to her brother, who hadn't said a thing since they sat down.

"What's wrong Pietro? I thought you would be in your element here." She asked lightly but there was true concern in her eyes.

"The club is nice, I guess. I'm just kinda bored. There's nothing to do." Pietro huffed, running a hand through his hair and tapping his foot anxiously.

"Poor baby." Wanda said sarcastically. "Why don't you and Laura dance? You used to love dancing in Romania when we were little and I'm sure John and I can manage alone." Wanda suggested.

"Laura can't dance." Pietro said sullenly.

Wanda's mouth formed an _'o'_ shape as she looked at Laura.

"You can't even grind?" She asked.

"Nope." Laura confirmed. "Dancing wasn't high on the Weapon-X priority list."

Wanda instantly felt bad for the other girl but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel bad for her brother as well. Before their mother died and Magneto put her in an asylum, Wanda and Pietro would make yearly visits to Romania with Magda and travel with her family, living as gypsies for a while. Wanda remembered those days so vividly seeing as that those were the memories that kept her sane while she was in the asylum. No matter what happened, Wanda had promised herself that five years in an asylum wouldn't overshadow thirteen years of life with her mother and Pietro and those memories of Romania helped make it so. She could sense everything like it was yesterday; the foods, the smells, the sights and sounds. No matter what, though, Wanda would always remember dancing with Pietro to gypsy songs in front of a crowd.

Gypsies weren't as nit-picky about being family, all that mattered was that you looked good together, could be a couple and could dance. She and Pietro were always favored over other dancers, if only because of their look; they looked like your average gypsy couple and no one would know they were brother and sister unless they were told, or looked closely at their eyes. Her dark skin and dark hair contrasted with Pietro's lighter features, giving him the appearance of being older. She was beautiful with many curves but had the slimness of a dancer and Pietro was handsome, charming and built. Wanda also remembered that his looks increased when he danced, for he gained a look of joy and elation at moving to the music that he couldn't find anywhere else. Oh how she missed those days.

A sudden outburst from Pietro pulled Wanda from Romania and into the present.

"I've got it!" He exclaimed, a look of sheer happiness on his face as he leered at his sister.

It took Wanda a moment to catch on but when she did, she immediately started to shake her head.

"Oh no, not me. Go ask Kitty." She suggested but Pietro just shook his head.

"I don't want Kitty. Come on, sis; don't tell me you've forgotten how." He joked, a twinkle in his eye.

Wanda was momentarily distracted by that twinkle, it felt like forever since she had seen him this happy and excited but still she protested.

"No, I haven't forgotten how. I just don't want to." She argued, looking down at the table.

John and Laura shared a look of confusion as they listened on.

"Don't lie to me; you enjoy dancing just as much as I do. Come on, it'll be like old times." He told her, rising from his chair and walking over to her side of the table to kneel in front of her. "Please." He begged. "No one knows we're brother and sister. Come on, just one dance." He pleaded.

"One dance my foot." Wanda scoffed knowing that once Pietro started dancing, he wouldn't be able to stop at the end of some two or three minute song.

Looking into his eyes, Wanda felt her resolve crumble. Could she really crush her brothers' happiness just because they were in America? She knew she wouldn't hesitate to dance with him if they were in Romania, what was so different about another country?

Pietro sensed her change in attitude and instantly took advantage of her moment of indecision. Putting on his most charming smile, the one that had always been saved for Wanda and their mother, and holding his hand out to her, Pietro spoke again.

"Come sister, dance with me."

Wanda laughed at his dramatics but took his hand none the less and allowed herself to be lead to the dance floor.

John and Laura watched the entire scene play out in speechlessness.

"I think we just got ditched." John stated unbelievingly.

Laura could only nod and say: "You know, sometimes I wish he'd smile at me like that."

When the couple reached the dance floor, Wanda suddenly became very nervous.

"Pietro," She started. "You and I both know that dancing gets rather...intimate. What are we supposed to do? Hold back? I mean we're not where it's accepted anymore..." She trailed.

"Absolutely not." Pietro exclaimed, astounded. "I asked you to dance and we're going to dance. It's not my fault my girlfriend can't dance." Pietro reasoned, swinging her out and away from him, only to draw her back close a second later.

As the two began to dance, Wanda started to relax ever so slightly. Pietro was right. No one knew they were brother and sister, except their friends and they knew how they were raised. Suddenly, however, a thought struck Wanda and she whispered: "What if Magneto sees us? You know he always hated it when mother took us to Romania. He said the gypsies were nothing but at a bunch of incestuous thieves."

Pietro scoffed and rolled his eyes, as he fought hard to keep Wanda on rhythm.

"Let him see us. He knows we prefer that lifestyle over the mutant terrorist thing anyway. Now pay attention to what you're doing, dear sister. I can't dance for the both of us, you know."

Wanda nodded and tried to think of other things as she focused on their dancing. It was hard, however, seeing as how every male they passed seemed to be staring straight at her and some were even shouting vile things her way and giving out cat calls.

Pietro didn't seem to be having too much fun either. Every time someone called out, he would turn, prepared to fight, only to have Wanda stop him. When he started to protest, claiming that it would only take a second to shut these guys up, she whispered: "This isn't our territory, we have no right. We're only here to check things out and if you start a fight, not only will we possibly blow our cover, but you'll gain Magneto's attention. Is that what you want?"

Pietro frowned but shook his head.

"Good boy. Just calm down, as long as no one tries anything, I'll be fine." She assured, leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

As they continued dancing, however, the comments got worse and men were _'dancing' _closer, trying to touch her. Pietro was about to lose his temper when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around, ready to hit whoever it was who, no doubt, came to hit on his sister but was surprised to find a very sharply dressed Victor Creed standing behind him.

"Move, short stuff." Creed demanded jokingly.

Pietro laughed but deep down he was worried about leaving his sister in the hands of Sabretooth. Sure they had a temporary alliance going but to tell the truth, Pietro wasn't too thrilled about that either.

Wanda, sensing Pietro's inner turmoil, leaned over and whispered to him that she would be fine and for him to go back to the table. Creed laughed as Pietro turned to go, a dejected look on his face and turned to Wanda, grabbing her lightly by the waist and pulling her to him, uncomfortable about lingering in the sea of moving bodies any longer than necessary.

"What are you doing on the dance floor?" Wanda asked, eyebrow raised.

"Coming to get these creeps off your back. Your brothers' pitiful glares didn't seem to be doing the job." Creed laughed.

"What if Magneto sees you, though?" Wanda inquired, concerned for the safety of not only Creed himself, but his cover as well.

"He's actually the one who sent me down here. I made an _innocent_ comment about the guys down here bothering you and he told me to take care of it anyway I could." He explained, twirling Wanda around.

"Making it seem like Magneto's idea? Brilliant." Wanda praised, laughing. "Who knew you could dance so well? Or clean up so nicely?" Wanda commented as an afterthought, looking over Creed as he spun her away from him, much like Pietro had done earlier.

Victor Creed, the dangerous mutant known as Sabretooth to most, was decked out nicely and looking good, much to Wanda's surprise. He was wearing a dark pair of jeans and a white dress shirt, the light color contrasting drastically with his dark skin even in the dim light of the club. Upon closer inspection, Wanda could see that he had trimmed back his beard so that it was merely stubble and his long, wild, blond hair was pulled back into a dashing ponytail.

"I have been told that I'm rather handsome on occasion." Creed joked lightly.

This was the side of Victor Creed that Wanda loved most. He was always so gruff and bad ass but if you could ever chance to get him alone, he was just like any other guy.

_'Unlike Wolverine.'_ Wanda thought, thinking back to the other day at the mall.

Creed had a way of surprising people. He could be civil and it wasn't always killing and violence with him. He could actually sit down and have a nice conversation with someone and be rather charming in the process.

"Well, let me say that I have to agree with whoever said that. You're absolutely stunning, in that masculine kind of way, of course." Wanda stated, laughing a little.

Creed joined in her laughter as they continued to move across the floor, but soon his mood, much like Pietro's, grew sour. He especially got mad when a man dancing near them, came up behind Wanda and touched her butt. Wanda stopped a fight from breaking out, though and when Creed asked why, her only response was: "I'm sure that when Magneto told you to_ 'take care of it'_, he didn't mean by killing someone."

"He told me to do whatever needs to be done, sweetheart." Victor responded, trying to keep his temper under control.

As the songs came and went, the men in the club only seemed to get rowdier, no doubt from alcohol consumption. Finally Creed looked down at Wanda and said: "You won't allow violence, so I'm only left with one more option. They have to know you're taken. Now relax and try to control yourself, I don't want to get hexed."

Wanda looked at him curiously for a moment before catching on and nodding in understanding. Wanda barely finished nodding before Creed pulled her closer, swooped down and kissed her. Playing along, Wanda wrapped her arms around his neck and responded hungrily.

Back at the table, Pietro and John were sitting with their mouths open in shock. Laura couldn't contain herself at the look on either boys face and burst into uncontrollable peals of laughter. When their shock wore off, both Pietro and John started to get up from their seats. Laura's laughing was cut short as she reached out and grabbed each boy by the arm and pulled him back down in his seat.

"Calm down you two. Can't you see he's doing this for her own good?" She asked seriously.

"How good is it to have Sabretooth's tongue down your throat?" John practically yelled, getting up.

Laura sighed as she reached out and pulled him back down in his seat.

"If I know my brother, like I think I know my brother, he's just doing it to get those guys off her back. He's six foot six, he's built and he's scary; they won't even look at her now." Laura explained. "Look, they've broken apart now and they're laughing. It was just for show."

Pietro nodded, still not convinced that kissing Wanda was the best way Creed could have done things while John sighed and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.

John needed to talk to Wanda. He needed to know where they stood.

* * *

_Chapter seven! w00t! I hope you guys enjoy this and I hope it lasts you for a few days seeing as I probably won't be able to update again until at least Tuesday. Please read and review and have a wonderful day. _

_-anon g._ **;)**

_RIP Michael Jackson  
RIP Farrah Fawcett_


	8. Smashing Mirrors Makes Everything Better

_Daughter of Destruction _

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own X-Men, X-Men Evolution, the Hellfire Club, the characters or the House of M concept. MARVEL owns it all.

**Notes:** A special thanks to Valkyrien and LadyMageLuna who took the time to review. This chapter is for you.

* * *

_Chapter Eight: Smashing Mirrors Makes Everything Better_

_Brotherhood House..._

After hours of dancing, talking with Sabretooth and getting lost on the way home, Wanda was ready to go to bed. Something stopped her, however. The urge to shower. For some reason Wanda felt the need to stay up just a little longer and the only way she could do that and stay awake was by hitting the shower.

Wanda sighed as the water ran over her form, loosening the muscles tightened by hours of dancing with her brother and Victor.

Victor had not only given her a run for her money on the dance floor but he also had a lot of information about the Hellfire Club and the only way he could communicate that with her, without being noticed by Magneto, was by staying on the dance floor all night.

Wanda thought over all that Victor had told her and what she could do about it. His note to her had only expressed that the Hellfire Club was meeting about her, but being up close and personal with Victor gave her more details than she was prepared for. They were deliberating on whether or not to end the life of her good friend and mentor Agatha Harkness.

_'How dare they?'_ Wanda thought bitterly. _'They have no right to act as gods. To decide who lives and who dies.'_

Even though her head was protesting their validation, the voice in the back of her mind was telling her that people like the Inner Circle needed no validation. They did what they wanted and everyone else be damned.

It was a sickening thought that someone could end up dying over her but it made Wanda feel better to know that there were people on her side. People like the Brotherhood, the X-men and Victor Creed. Wanda was even informed that Destiny herself was on her side. Victor entrusted Wanda with information that could very well get Destiny killed if the Inner Circle knew. Destiny had lied straight to Sebastian Shaw's face in that meeting the other night. Destiny had told Shaw that she hadn't seen any other visions concerning Wanda but that wasn't true. Victor told Wanda that recently, Destiny's dreams were riddled with visions of her and even though Destiny couldn't make heads nor tails of them, it was still frowned upon to lie to the Inner Circle. Especially since they were rich and powerful.

Wanda sighed again as she cut the water in the shower off and reached for her towel. Wrapping the towel around herself and stepping out of the shower, Wanda couldn't help but think about Destiny's motives for lying to Shaw. Was she lying because the visions were unclear, was she doing it to save Wanda or did she have a hidden agenda that no one knew about? A hidden agenda that, no doubt, has something to do with Mystique and her conniving self.

As Wanda started to brush out her long hair, the door to the bathroom opened and John stepped in.

The look on his face told Wanda that he was a man on a mission and he was there to talk, not play around but once his eyes rested on Wanda's attire, his gaze said something else entirely. His blue eyes were filled with lust as they swept over her body. He was giving her that look again. That special "John-look".

Shaking his head, as though to clear his mind and turning to shut the door he said: "We need to talk, luv."

Wanda gulped, not liking the sound of those words, but kept her cool.

"Alright. What's up?" She asked, turning around and hopping up onto the counter.

"I wanna talk to you about what happened with Sabretooth tonight." He stated, eyebrows narrowed and a hard glare on his face.

"John, that was just for show." Wanda reasoned. "He was doing that to show those guys that I was taken. He meant nothing by it. Hell, he even warned me before he did it!"

John shook his head as she explained and walked closer to her.

"I don't care. I just didn't like how that all played out." He told her, still showing signs of fierce anger.

Wanda's eyes narrowed as she realized that he wasn't backing down.

"Look, you can't keep getting mad at me every time I turn around." Wanda said calmly. "I have a very close relationship with many men and you can't keep doing this to me. You're making me feel guilty and I haven't even done anything wrong!" She exclaimed crossing her arms over her towel clad chest.

John's eyes softened a moment as he moved her legs so that he could stand between them. Pulling her arms from their defense position and taking hold of her hands he said: "I don't mean to make you feel guilty, but in all honesty, luv, I'm burnin' with jealousy here. This isn't easy for me either."

Wanda's body relaxed as he held her hands and spoke his peace.

"Jealous of what, though?" She asked a look of pure puzzlement on her beautiful face.

"You really don't get it, do you?" He asked incredulously.

"You can't answer a question with a question, John. It's not grammatically correct." Wanda corrected lightly.

"You don't get how beautiful you are, do you?" John inquired, ignoring her completely. "You don't get that every guy who walked past you tonight, walked away with a major boner. You really don't understand the effect you have on men, do you? The effect you have on me?"

Wanda rolled her eyes at his flattery as he shifted from statement to question. She tried to hop off the counter but John, still standing between her legs, wouldn't let her so she opted for scooting back, away from him.

"Luv, you don't understand. When I saw you with Sabretooth out there tonight, I was furious. The only thoughts running through my head were: 'He shouldn't be able to touch my girl like that.'" John explained, pulling on her hands so that her towel clad bottom slid forward on the marble counter top. "I should be the only one to hold you like that." He told her, letting go of her hands and putting his arms around her waist. "I should be the only one who can kiss you like that. Me. Not him or anyone else."

The next thing that Wanda was aware of was the feeling of John's lips on hers; searching for any sign that she felt the same way. Wanda, trying to be as reassuring as she could, kissed back hungrily, taking everything he was offering.

John smiled in satisfaction when Wanda responded and left her lips to trail down the side of her neck. John's name flew from Wanda's mouth in a whisper turned to moan as his lips found an exceptionally sensitive spot on her neck. Wanda's arms wrapped around John's neck as her legs found their way around his waist in an effort to pull him closer to her. Anything to be closer. Nothing could be too close.

John's kisses, fueled by Wanda's passion and obvious enjoyment of his attention, became rougher and harder against the sensitive skin of her neck. Wanda wasn't conscious of anything but her and John. Her unconscious state abruptly ended, though when John's hands reached for her towel.

Lightly pushing him back, Wanda said: "We should stop before someone comes in and sees us."

John only grinned and turned, preparing to lock the bathroom door. Wanda, however, sensed his plan and grabbed his arm.

"No." She stated firmly. "Not here."

John, still grinning, made his way back to her and started to lift her off the counter, his plan to take her to his room so that they could finish what they started but Wanda, once again, stopped him.

Looking down at the floor she whispered: "Not now."

John's eyes instantly became hard and angry at her whisper.

"Fine" He gritted out between clinched teeth.

Wanda hopped off the counter as he turned to leave, hoping to stop his angry trek out the door but he just shook her off as she grabbed his arm and slammed the door on his way out.

Angry at herself and John, Wanda kicked the door with her bare foot and then turned back towards the counter, her fist smashing into the mirror above the sink.

The glass shattered, bits of its sharp surface flying everywhere as Wanda stood there, hand still pressed to the middle of the mirror. She only pulled her bleeding hand away once the glass settled. As Wanda started to pick bits of glass from her hand, a knock sounded at the door and she could hear Laura calling her name from the other side.

* * *

_Ten Minutes Earlier, Pietro's Room..._

Pietro stared at his girlfriend hungrily as he lay on his bed, watching her change into her night clothes. Laura, feeling eyes on her, turned in the middle of buttoning up one of Pietro's old dress shirts.

"What?" She asked, hands pausing in their work leaving Pietro a nice view of her breasts.

"Nothing." He whispered as she resumed buttoning the shirt. "Can't I look at my girlfriend?" He asked innocently.

Laura laughed and, finishing with the shirt, gathered her hair up and secured it in a messy ponytail.

"I guess you can. I'm not sure how I feel about the attention, though." She stated picking up her clothes from earlier and putting them in the dirty clothes hamper.

She felt a small gust of wind behind her and a second later, two arms wrapped themselves around her middle. Kissing the side of her neck, Pietro said: "Oh please, you know you love the attention."

Laura laughed and muttered something about cocky speedsters before slipping from his arms and walking over to the closet.

Pietro huffed and followed her to the closet. Once again, he wrapped his arms around her and his lips found their way to her neck. Laura giggled a little before lightly pushing him away and saying: "Pietro if you keep this up, I'm never going to get my clothes laid out for tomorrow."

Scoffing, Pietro turned and made his way back to the bed.

"Fine. I don't see why you insist on picking your clothes out at night, though. Why not do it in the day?" He asked crossing his arms and looking very much like a two year old.

"Because I don't want to wake you in the morning. I get up very early you know. Even earlier than you." She reminded, bending down to get a better look at the jeans on the low shelf in the dark closet, trying to decipher which were her jeans and which were Pietro's.

Pietro groaned and Laura took for granted that he was groaning at her statement. They had had this conversation at least a hundred times, maybe more. However, it wasn't the conversation topic that caught Pietro's attention, it was the view Laura was giving him.

Even Sabretooth would be lying if he said his little sister wasn't attractive. She, much like Wanda, had dark features such as her hair and skin, making her and Pietro an odd, but interesting looking couple. Her eyes, also like Wanda's, were bright and colorful, like bursts of green set in a dark face. Laura was also fit, probably as fit as any one woman can be without losing her femininity. Years of being raised in the Weapon-X environment and training everyday helped give Laura a ripped, yet still curvy physique. Most people expected Laura to be just a block of muscle but somehow, training didn't diminish her womanly curves. She was most men's dream and she belonged to Pietro. A tough break for other men but Pietro basked in his luck every night, for at night was when, Pietro felt, she looked her best. Her hair would be up in some messy style, she would be wearing one of his old shirts and pair of boy-short underwear, leaving long legs to trail from some hidden place where the shirt stopped; looking just like she did now.

Taking in the sight of her, Pietro found his control, limited as it was, slipping from him.

_'What man wouldn't?'_ Pietro thought to himself as he slowly approached Laura from behind.

Laura was like Wanda in many ways, not just her looks, and Pietro found a comfort in that. She reacted to situations much like Wanda did, giving Pietro an advantage on what to expect from her. She was sometimes cold and calculating, but at other times she could be warm and loving. Laura was like a cat. If she wanted you to touch her and be near her, that was alright but if she didn't, heaven help you. Pietro could only hope that this was one of those times that she was feeling friendly.

As Pietro grew nearer, Laura's attention wandered from the jeans in front of her to something else. Something she could hear that he couldn't. Pietro stopped his approach and gave her time to figure out what she was hearing. It always irked her if she could sense something happening and couldn't figure out what it was, so he waited.

Laura knew that Pietro was waiting for her to finish and she was grateful. She didn't know how many months it took him to figure it out, but she was glad that he had and was being thoughtful in relation to her powers.

Laura quickly grew frustrated when the sounds died down and then rose again. Listening closer, she could hear John and Wanda and by the echo of their voices, they were in the bathroom.

_'They're fighting.'_ She concluded and finished listening in.

Laura had great respect for others privacy. This was a private and intimate moment between Wanda and John and they didn't need her unknowingly listening in on their conversation.

Feigning ignorance to how close Pietro was she turned back to the jeans in front of her. No sooner had she began sifting through the items on the shelf, did strong, wiry arms wrap around her middle and turn her around.

"Pietro..." She whined as his lips attacked her collarbone. "I'd like to get my stuff set up for in the morning. I promise I'll fool around with you after I'm finished."

Pietro pushed her back against the closet door and growled: "No, now."

Laura, pretending to be mad, refused to respond to him at all. When Pietro noticed her lack of enthusiasm, he stopped and looked down at her.

"Come on, don't be like that." He pleaded. "I'll pick out what you'll wear tomorrow after we're done."

Laura scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I'm not walking around the house a negligee." She told him.

"Well just take the fun out of it why don't you." Pietro joked. "I promise, nothing too revealing, now please loosen up. We haven't had sex in two weeks!" He exclaimed.

"Try two days." Laura corrected, eyebrow raised.

"Same difference." He muttered pulling her closer. "The point is I miss you. Do you know how hard it is to just sleep beside you?"

"It's been two days!" She exclaimed. "And I can sleep just fine."

Pietro rolled his eyes and leaned down until his lips were next to her ear.

"Come on. Please." He begged, kissing her ear lightly.

Laura giggled and Pietro took that as a sign of agreement. Lifting her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist, Pietro propped her against the wall and kissed her passionately. Just as Laura began to respond, however, she heard the sounds of the bathroom door slamming and glass shattering. Seeing as how Pietro kept kissing her, she assumed he hadn't heard, so she lightly pushed him away.

"What?" He asked, breathing heavily.

"I heard a noise. Wait here; I'll go see what it was about." She told him, lowering herself to the floor and walking towards the door of their room.

"But baby, two weeks!" He called after her.

"Two days and I'll be right back." She promised, shutting the door.

As Laura walked down the hall, she saw Lance and Kitty poke their heads out of Lance's room.

"Don't worry; I'm sure it was nothing." She told them.

When Laura got to the bathroom door, she saw John standing in front of it and looking confused. It was clear that he was debating on whether he should go in or not and Laura decided to make up his mind for him.

"Go on. I think you've done enough damage for one night." She stated, somehow knowing that this had to do with his and Wanda's fight.

John looked down at her, eyes narrowed but seeing the look of determination on the younger girls face; he nodded and went to his room.

Laura sighed as she watched him go and knocked on the door, calling out to Wanda.

"Wanda!" She yelled. "Come on, baby, open the door."

Laura was thoroughly surprised when the door opened so quickly and even more surprised when she was greeted by a tear stricken, bleeding Wanda. Laura shook her head as she stepped in the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

"Let me see your hand." She told Wanda, reaching out to her.

Wanda obligingly gave the younger girl her hand and watched her run some cool water in the sink and stick her hand under it. Wanda winced at the slight sting of the water before relaxing.

"You keep your hand under the water while I clean up this mess and get the first aid kit." Laura instructed, bending down and quickly disposing of the glass on the floor.

The mirror broke into mostly big pieces, so clean up didn't take very long. Once Laura was finished with the glass, she grabbed the first aid kit and took Wanda's, now numb hand out from under the water. Looking over Wanda's injured hand, she said: "You really did a number on yourself."

Wanda looked down at the floor and said nothing as Laura felt her hand, searching for glass. Wanda was very lucky in Laura's opinion. Most of her cuts were just superficial; there was only one that Laura was concerned about. When Laura moved onto the wound on the side of Wanda's hand, Wanda winced and drew her hand back.

"There's still glass in it." Laura observed, getting the tweezers from the first aid kit.

"Yeah. That piece was too far in and I couldn't get it out." Wanda replied, her voice hoarse.

Laura took her hand and brought it up to eye level, inspecting it carefully. The piece of glass went in Wanda's hand at the base of her pointer finger at an angle so that it was aiming down into her hand.

"I think I can get it out with the tweezers, but this is gonna hurt." Laura warned before gently sticking the tweezers in the wound and scraping against the edge of the glass. Trying again Laura said: "The tweezers are too slick; they just keep sliding off the glass. You know what I'm gonna have to do, right?" Laura asked, looking at Wanda expectantly.

Wanda nodded and Laura said: "I can take you to a hospital if you'd prefer that way. Or even doctor McCoy at the X-mansion."

Wanda smiled but shook her head.

"I don't want a whole horde of people knowing about this. Besides, I trust you." She assured.

Laura smiled and said: "This is going to be painful so what I want you to do is try to summon a hex around your hand to relieve some of the pain. I also want you to shut your eyes and turn your head away. It'll be much easier on you that way."

Wanda did as she was told and when her hand began to glow blue, she shut her eyes and turned away.

Laura gulped before balling her hand into a fist and releasing her claws slowly. Taking Wanda's hand again, she poked at the wound with one of her claws.

"Does that hurt?" She asked.

Laura breathed a sigh of relief as Wanda shook her head_ 'no'_ and brought her claws back to the wound. Slicing it open a little deeper, careful not to make the glass slip further, she retracted her claws and picked the piece of glass out with her fingernail.

"Don't open your eyes until I tell you and keep that hex over your hand as long as you can manage." She instructed, throwing the glass in the trash and grabbing anti-bacterial soap, peroxide and alcohol.

After cleaning Wanda's entire hand, she slowly wrapped it in gauze, taping it off at the end.

"I'm finished. It'll hold and it will even heal like that, but I still want you to go see a doctor." Laura told her, watching as the Scarlet Witch released the hex and looked at her bandaged hand.

"I'm going to Xavier's tomorrow to speak with the Professor; I'll stop by McCoy's office and have him check it out." Wanda explained, looking at the floor guiltily. "Thanks for helping me, Laura. I know this probably isn't the way you planned to spend your night."

Laura laughed and said: "True, but you're like my sister. How could I not help?"

Wanda smiled and gave the younger girl a hug.

"You're the best Laura. Could I ask you of another favor, though?"

"Anything."

"Please don't tell Pietro. I don't want him to know about this." Wanda pleaded.

"I won't but don't you think he'll notice your hand wrapped in gauze?" Laura asked, already making up an excuse for why she was gone so long.

"I'll think of something." Wanda promised, hugging her again. "Thanks again, Laura."

"Sure thing." Laura smiled, walking out of the bathroom and making her way back to the room she shared with Pietro.

When she entered the room, Pietro was laying on the bed sporting a _'come hither'_ look that made her giggle.

"What took you so long?" Pietro asked, voice husky.

Laura could tell that he didn't care where she had been, all that mattered was that she was there now and able to make good on her promise.

"The noise I heard was Freddy in the kitchen." She lied. "We just started talking, that's all. I'm here now, though." She told him, cocking her hip to one side and looking at him suggestively.

Pietro just smirked and motioned for her to join him on the bed.

* * *

_Chapter eight! Not too sure about some parts but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway. I focused a little more on the X-ietro in this chapter than the Jonda but that's mainly because I don't think I've given them enough air time so I hope you guys aren't too mad. Please review and stay tuned for the next chapter. Have a wonderful day._

_-anon g._** ;)**

_RIP Michael Jackson  
__RIP Farrah Fawcett_


	9. Girl Talk and Meetings

_Daughter of Destruction _

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own X-men, X-men Evolution, the Hellfire Club, the characters or the House of M concept. Marvel owns it all.

**Notes:** A big heap of thanks goes out to LadyMageLuna and Valkyrien for reviewing. You guys are wonderful and I really don't know what I'd do without either of you. You guys rock hardcore and you know it!

* * *

_Chapter Nine: Girl Talk and Meetings_

_Brotherhood House..._

Wanda awoke the next morning to a fierce pain in her right hand, the sounds of the shower running and the smell of eggs. Yawning, Wanda wondered who would be up at this time and better yet, who had taken her place as breakfast-maker. Throwing the covers away from her form, Wanda quickly rose from her daybed, grabbed her robe and started the long trek down stairs.

When she arrived in the kitchen, she saw Laura at the stove fixing breakfast and humming to some tune that only she could hear. Wanda cleared her throat to get the younger girls attention but by Laura's non surprised reaction, Wanda gathered that Laura had known she was there all along.

"Morning, Wanda. How does your hand feel?" Laura asked, never taking her eyes from the stove.

"It hurts like hell." Wanda muttered, knowing that no matter how low she talked, Laura would be able to hear her.

"I figured as much which is why I set a bottle of pain killers out on the table for you and a glass of water." Laura informed, taking the pan of eggs off the stove and distributing them onto separate plates. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of fixing breakfast this morning. I figured it would give you and that hand of yours a days rest and that'll do the wound some good."

"Thanks Laura, I really appreciate it." Wanda told her, smiling.

"From the movement upstairs, the guys will be down very soon so you might want to think of an excuse to tell Pietro about your little injury there." Laura advised, finishing with the eggs and turning towards the toaster.

"Is that who's in the shower?" Wanda asked, taking her pills and pouring the rest of the water in the sink.

"No, he's still asleep. Kitty was the one in the shower."

"Was?" Wanda inquired, walking to the cabinet and pulling out a tea bag.

"Was." Laura repeated. "She's on her way down stairs right now."

Seconds later Laura was proved correct as Kitty practically skipped into the kitchen and over to the refrigerator, sticking her head in to inspect its contents.

"Someone got some last night." Laura said, laughing as the shorter girl hit her head on the inside of the fridge at her observation.

"I could say the same about you, _loudmouth_. I swear no one needs to make that much noise, especially in a house full of other people. You guys sure know how to kill the mood between others, I can tell you that." Kitty shot back, rubbing her head.

Laura blushed lightly and turned back to the counter, busying herself with buttering the toast while Wanda watched in amazement. Wanda didn't think she had ever seen Laura blush at a statement that didn't come from the mouth of Pietro. This was new territory for her.

"Speaking of gettin' some," Wanda started, filling a kettle with water, sticking the tea bag in it and placing it on the stove. "I wanted to ask you guys something."

Laura and Kitty both stopped what they were doing and turned to Wanda, curious looks on their beautiful faces.

"Did you and John _finally_ do it?" Kitty asked.

"What do you mean,_ finally_?" Wanda demanded, eyes narrowed.

"I just meant there's a lot of sexual tension between you two. I was hoping we could relieve the _'sex fog'_ over the house. It's gettin' kinda stuffy in here." Kitty remarked innocently.

Laura laughed loudly at Kitty's explanation and said: "What did you want to ask, Wanda?"

Wanda stayed quiet for a moment, not sure how to approach the subject.

"Well first off, did you guys lose your virginity to Lance and Pietro or had you already had sex before then?"

Kitty blushed and said: "Lance was my first."

"I had already lost my virginity." Laura stated, looking at her evenly.

"Well were Lance and Pietro ready before you were?" Wanda asked, walking over to the kitchen table and sitting down.

Both girls followed and sat down across from her giving Wanda the uneasy feeling that they were a little _too _into this conversation.

"Of course." Kitty exclaimed. "Lance was ready long before I was."

Wanda nodded and turned her gaze to Laura.

"Do you even have to ask that?" Laura questioned, eyebrow raised. "He's fast at everything. He was probably ready the second I set foot in this house."

Wanda and Kitty laughed before Wanda grew serious again.

"The first time your make out sessions started going too far, did you stop and tell them you weren't ready yet?"

Both girls nodded and shared a look with each other, finally seeing where the conversation was going. Wanda, however, didn't notice the look because she was staring at the table, tracing the pattern on the tablecloth with her eyes. Laura and Kitty could tell that this conversation was rather embarrassing for her, so they decided to elaborate without any further prodding.

"Yes. Lance was, of course, frustrated but he told me that he would wait as long as he had to. He wanted me to be comfortable with the idea before we embarked on such a monumental step. Sex really does change everything. If you're in love, it makes your relationship more intimate; you share things that you didn't before. You have a better connection with that person. If you don't love each other, it can either make things awkward or turn your relationship into one big sexual encounter." Kitty explained.

Laura nodded her agreement to Kitty's statement and added: "Pietro reacted in pretty much the same way. He knelt down in front of me and told me that he understood my reservations and that he would wait as long as it took."

Kitty_ 'awed'_ at the thought of Pietro, the cocky ladies man, being so sensitive. Laura laughed and added: "Of course he ruined it a second later with: 'You know I get impatient really quickly, though, so try not to make me wait too long.'"

Wanda and Kitty burst into peals of laughter at Laura's Pietro impression but as the laughter died down the mood, once again, grew serious.

"Wanda," Laura started. "Does this have anything to do with you putting your fist into a mirror last night?"

Kitty gasped as Wanda nodded.

"Wanda, why would you do something like that? And over John, none the less. I mean he's cute, don't get me wrong, but there are a million guys out there that would probably jump at the chance to be someone you'd _consider_ having sex with, forget actually going through with it." Kitty told her.

"I love him, Kitty. He told me he loved me too." Wanda muttered weakly.

Being weak was foreign territory to Wanda. She was always strong and rational, not letting her feelings take over her but this, what she felt for John. It was too strong to ignore and it made her weak and weary.

"If he loved you, he wouldn't throw your...relationship-type-thing away just because you're not ready." Laura stated eyes hard.

Wanda was like her sister and Laura felt the strong urge to march upstairs and rip John to pieces for making her feel this way. Laura had never seen Wanda so vulnerable before and it was quite unsettling.

"I guess you're right." Wanda muttered. "But can I really give up on him because of this?"

Kitty started to answer but Laura put her hand over her mouth before she could.

"Shh." She instructed. "John's coming down the stairs. We'll finish talking about this later." She promised, taking her hand from Kitty's mouth.

Mere seconds later John walked into the room looking sleepy and miserable. He didn't look like he had had a good nights sleep at all and Laura and Kitty felt a surge of happiness go through them at the thought. All Wanda felt was guilt.

Kitty and Laura's eyes followed John as he made his way to the cabinet, got a coffee filter and began to set up the automatic coffee maker. When John turned around, he was surprised to find two sets of eyes glaring at him.

"Mornin' sheila's." He greeted, crossing the kitchen back to the doorway.

Kitty huffed and looked away from him while Laura growled and stood from her chair. John backed away a little, wondering what the feral mutant was going to do. He soon felt foolish, however, when she just walked over to the counter where the toast was, not even sparing him a glance.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, John mulled over what would make them behave like that. Suddenly he looked over at Wanda sitting at the kitchen table and instantly knew why they treated him so coldly. Rubbing his face with his hand, he looked her over and saw that she looked just about as un-rested as he felt. Then John noticed the bandage on her hand and felt a pang of gilt in his stomach. He had done that. He had made her angry and inadvertently made her do that to herself. It was his fault she was in pain and even though he wanted to, he didn't dare approach her. Kitty and Laura would tear him to bits and Wanda would probably hex him into next Tuesday after the way he treated her last night.

Looking back, John admitted that he had been a jackass. He shouldn't have lost his temper just because she wasn't ready but it was hard. Wanda was a very attractive woman who, not only didn't know she was attractive but also grew very shy at compliments, making her even more attractive. Not only that but he had an emotional connection with her, he felt something when he looked at her. Putting those factors together intensified any feeling that came over him tenfold. When any normal man would have just been aroused by her, he felt so much passion that it was painful to look at her. Then she taunted him by being close with other men. It wasn't her fault, by all means. She was a lovable person who attracted people like flies. Some of those people just happened to be men and even though he knew she wasn't interested, it still hurt him for her to be near them in such a manner.

John's thoughts were interrupted by a gust of wind flying past him and into the kitchen, seeking Laura out like it had radar. When the gust settled, Pietro stood behind Laura, kissed the side of her neck and mumbled a quick, yet warm greeting before turning around to face the rest of the kitchen.

"Does anyone know what happened to the mirror above the sink?" He asked, talking so fast that a normal person wouldn't have been able to understand him; the Brotherhood did though. Practice makes perfect, that's the saying and it proved true in the case of Pietro's speed speech. It took a while for a new comer to get it but after spending a mere week in the Hood House, Pietro's speed speech was just like regular English.

Wanda turned at Pietro's question, prepared to answer with her made up story but as soon as she turned, Pietro rushed to her and lightly grabbed her bandaged hand.

"What happened to you? Do I need to kill someone?" He asked frantically.

"No, Pietro. This is what happened to the mirror."

Pietro looked at her for a minute, head cocked to the side and an incredulous look on his face.

"Let me explain." Wanda started. "I was getting out of the shower last night and there was water on the floor. I slipped and stuck my hand out, hoping to catch my fall on something but instead, my hand went right into the mirror. No need to worry, though. Laura patched me up and I'm going to see McCoy today when I visit the mansion."

Pietro turned and looked at his girlfriend who was still preparing breakfast.

"You said you were talking to Freddy in the kitchen." He accused.

"Wanda didn't want anyone to worry so she swore me to secrecy." Laura answered, looking at the counter and feeling a bit guilty.

"Don't blame her, Pie. I told her not to tell you because I knew it would ruin your night." Wanda soothed, taking her brothers' face in her hand and kissing his cheek. "It's no big deal, really. Like I said, I'll visit McCoy today while I'm meeting with Xavier just to make sure everything is on the up and up." She assured, releasing him and walking over to her, now, whistling tea pot on the stove.

"What meeting with Xavier? I haven't heard about any meeting." Pietro said, following his sister to the stove.

"That's because I didn't tell you." Wanda stated simply. "Xavier and I are meeting, not Xavier and the Brotherhood."

"We're still coming." Pietro told her. "I don't like the way those X-geeks treat you. No offense, Kitty." Pietro quickly amended.

"None taken." Kitty replied, setting the table.

"I'm sure I'll be fine, but do whatever floats your boat. Xavier and I will have a private conversation, though." Wanda informed, pouring herself a cup of tea and turning from the counter.

"But Wanda..." Pietro started.

"Our conversation will be private or you don't come at all." Wanda stated, walking to the kitchen table.

Pietro opened his mouth to argue but Wanda cut him off with a raised hand.

"Case closed Pietro."

* * *

_Xavier Mansion..._

Lance wheeled into the driveway of the X-mansion and cut the engine. Seconds later Pietro sped up with Laura in his arms and John's motorcycle sped in behind them. Wanda rolled her eyes as she waited for Freddy or Todd to get out of the back of the jeep so that she herself could get out. She had insisted that she would be perfectly fine and it was not necessary for the _entire_ team to go on this little outing but the boys were defiant and Laura and Kitty were just along to make sure no one got killed. This was how she found herself in the back of Lance's jeep sitting between Freddy and Todd, who were acting as her official bodyguards for the day.

When she was finally able to escape the back of the jeep, she walked up to the front door, waiting for no one and hoping the boys would have enough sense to see that they weren't needed on this particular trip. Wanda sighed as she looked behind her, seeing that they were going to be stubborn and follow her in. Knocking twice, Wanda covered her face with her hands. She loved her family, she really did but sometimes they could be a little too protective.

Cyclops opened the door and, already knowing Wanda had an appointment with Xavier, motioned for her to follow him.

"I thought this was a private meeting. I mean Xavier told me and Wolverine we weren't allowed in." He stated, looking over to Wanda who was uncharacteristically silent. "What are _they_ doing here?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but they're my team and they've come here to support me." Wanda replied, not liking the idea of her team insisting on coming with her but _hating_ the fact that Scott was acting like they had no right to be there.

The rest of the walk to Xavier's office was a silent one and when they arrived, Jean was just leaving. Wanda nodded her head politely in recognition as Scott went over and kissed her in greeting.

"You can go on in. Your team can wait in the living room if they'd like." Jean offered.

"Thank you." Wanda said and looked back at her team, waiting for them to follow Jean into the living room.

"If it's alright with you guys, we'll just wait." Pietro stated after a moment of silence.

"Of course. If you guys need anything, you have but to ask." Jean said and taking Scott's hand, she walked down the hall and turned the corner. Jean stopped as soon as they were out of sight and signaled for Scott to stop with her.

"What are you doing?" Scott asked as Jean peeked around the corner.

"I just want to see what they're doing. I mean Wanda could have gone in as soon as she walked up, they're waiting for something." Jean replied, never looking away from the group in front of Xavier's office.

"I know this is supposed to be a private meeting and all," Pietro started. "But do you want someone to go in with you? Like moral support or something?"

Wanda looked from the door to her team and then nodded.

"That's a good idea, brother dear. I am a little nervous." Wanda mused, looking at the group.

Pietro smirked and puffed his chest out, expecting to be the one picked to go in with her, but his smirk faded as Wanda gazed thoughtfully over the group.

Wanda's first choice was John but as she raised her hand to say something, the bandage on her hand caught her attention and she shook her head. They were fighting. She couldn't ask him to go in with her when they were fighting. It would be awkward.

Wanda turned her gaze back to the group, looking for someone she could trust. She would have chosen John without a second thought if the circumstances were different so now she had to go to someone who would understand her need for secrecy, would be worried but at the same time respect the decision she was making and realize that what she was doing was for the good of the team. That ruled her brother out. No matter what was going on, even if the world was ending, Pietro would never condone the topic that she was about to discuss with Xavier. A pity Pietro had to be so closed minded. She would have loved to have her brother in there with her.

Wanda's eyes lit up as she looked at Lance. The next best thing to her brother and the guy she was in love with. They had been in love once, or so they thought and now he was just as close to her as Pietro.

_'Perfect.' _Wanda thought, smiling.

"Kitty," She started. "You wouldn't mind me stealing your boyfriend for this little meeting, would you?"

Kitty smiled and shook her head.

"You can borrow him anytime you need him. Just make sure you bring him back." She laughed.

"Great, make me feel like some trading card." Lance muttered but inside, he was overjoyed.

It was nice to know that his and Wanda's stint in dating didn't diminish their close relationship and it was a comforting feeling to know that she trusted him.

"Him?" Pietro burst out. "Him? You're choosing him over me?"

Wanda laughed and walked over to her brother.

"Pietro, I love you as much as a sister can love her brother without it becoming indecent but I don't think this meeting is the place for you. I'm not even sure Lance is going to feel comfortable in there but I need someone to go in with me. Someone who's not going to judge me or try to talk me out of my decision. Do you understand?" She asked sweetly.

Pietro nodded and hugged her.

"Don't talk about it like you're gonna be dyin' or nothin', yo." Todd told her as she and Pietro released each other.

"Yeah, Wanda." Freddy started. "You're kinda scarin' me."

Wanda's face softened as she walked over to Todd and Freddy.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you but you know how irrational Pietro is sometimes."

Both boys smiled and nodded as Pietro protested in the background.

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise." She stated, kissing both boys on the cheek before turning to Laura. "You take care of him out here." She instructed pointing to her brother. "I don't need him blowing a gasket just because the meeting is takin' a little long."

Laura laughed and assured her that Pietro would be fine.

Wanda nodded and smiled at the entire group before turning to Lance, who took her hand and ushered her into Xavier's office.

Jean and Scott were still watching from the shadows in silence when Jean suddenly stood and sighed.

"What's the matter?" Scott asked a concerned look on his face.

"Nothing, I just wish that our team was like that." Jean answered turning and walking down the hall.

"Like what?" Scott called after her.

Jean never stopped walking and never looked back and the answer floated back to Scott in the form of a psychic message.

_'Like a family.'_

* * *

Once inside the office, Lance shut the door behind them as Wanda went over to Xavier and shook his hand.

"Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice, Professor."

"It was my pleasure, Wanda. Please be seated, you too Mr. Alvers."

As the two youths sat across from Xavier, the room filled with an uneasy silence. After a few moments, Lance scooted his chair closer to Wanda's and took her hand.

"Well first things first. Lance, this meeting is going to cover a variety of subjects. All of these subjects concern myself and the Hellfire Club. I know that you care Lance but believe me, what Xavier and I have to discuss is the only way and it is for the best. I just want your word that what happens in this office, stays in this office." Wanda stated, looking at Lance intently.

"Anything you say, Wanda." Lance assured, looking directly into Wanda's eyes.

Xavier smiled at the honesty of Lance's words and turned to Wanda as she began to speak.

"Xavier, the most important order of business here is that if something were to happen to me, I would like my last thoughts to reach my family." Wanda started, pulling out a bundle of envelopes from her purse with the hand that Lance wasn't holding and laying them on Xavier's desk. "There is a note in there for every member of my team: Lance, Laura, Pietro, John, Todd, Freddy, Sabretooth, Kitty and there's even one in there for you." Wanda told him as he picked up the stack and put them in his desk drawer.

"I thank you for entrusting your final words with me and I ensure you that they will be taken care of." Xavier promised, smiling at the young woman in front of him.

Wanda nodded and her grip on Lance's hand increased as she opened her mouth to speak.

"The next order of business I would like to discuss with you has to do with the mutant Destiny and a vision that has come to her recently and the course of action I want you to take when this vision comes to pass..."

* * *

_Finally chapter nine is finished. It felt like it took forever to write. It was originally supposed to involve her meeting with Beast but that made it too long so that will be addressed in the next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I will try to update again very soon. Please don't forget to review and stay tuned for chapter ten._

_-anon goddess_** ;)**


	10. Just Like Him

_Daughter of Destruction _

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own X-men, X-men Evolution, the Hellfire Club, the characters or the House of M concept. Marvel owns all of that because they're the luckiest little devils in the entire world!!!

**Notes:** I would like to thank Valkyrien for reviewing even though she's injured and I hope that you get better soon!!

* * *

_Chapter Ten: Just Like Him_

_Xavier Mansion..._

Hours passed and Wanda found herself tired and exhausted. Her meeting with Xavier went smooth enough and he was just as understanding as she had expected him to be but the topics she had to cover and the detail she had to go into was very strenuous on her system. Not to mention that there were times, not many, but times when she had to stop to either comfort Lance or to stop herself from crying.

Wanda chastised herself many times over the hours for crying, for she was not a person who did so very often. She was a strong person and crying was a weak person's game, at least that's what Magneto always stressed. Wanda remembered his teaching just like it was yesterday. He was so very different from Magda. While her mother would stress: _"Being your best and working hard takes a toll on your emotions. Do not be afraid to let those emotions out for if you don't, you will break down and not be able to function."_ Magneto would say: _"Emotions are meaningless and their only purpose is to weaken the strong and keep them from being their best. Do not let emotions rule your life, they will surely be the end of you, mark my words." _Both teachings swirled in her brain and Wanda found herself going mad trying to decipher which set of words to listen to.

Eventually, however, the meeting ended and with her wishes left to Xavier to fulfill and Lance sworn to secrecy, she bid Xavier adieu and left the office, Lance holding onto her uninjured hand fiercely, afraid to let go.

When they emerged, Pietro and Todd launched themselves at her, dislodging a clearly disgruntled Lance from her hand. Wanda put her arms around both boys as they chattered on asking how she was and what took so long.

Wanda soon found herself musing on how much Todd had changed over the years, not in appearance but in attitude. His behavior seemed to be getting better as the shock at the death of his grandmother set in and he became somewhat normal again. Not only that, but Todd's crush on her didn't over run their lives anymore. Todd still expressed his attraction with god awful names like_ 'poopsie'_ and _'cuddle bumps'_ but he didn't constantly pester her anymore and when he threw himself at her as she exited Xavier's office, he didn't do so out of puppy love, he did so because she was not only his leader but his friend and he cared deeply for her as a person not just as a crush.

Wanda endured the bone crushing hugs and exited chatter with good humor and stride as she waited for them to cease hugging her. It wasn't that she didn't love their attention, it was just that after hours of planning what could very well be her last will in testament, she was extremely tired and she still had to visit Dr. McCoy in the med bay about her hand, something she was dreading fiercely.

When the boys realized that she wasn't offering up any information they stopped their chatter and looked at her concernedly.

"Are you OK?" Todd asked eyes wide with such deep concern that Wanda found herself immensely flattered at his care.

"I'm fine, just a little tired. I still have to visit McCoy, remember?" She responded, pulling the younger mutant into a one armed hug.

The green mutant beamed at her attention and offered his arm out to her in an effort to escort her to the med bay. Wanda took his arm gratefully as she and the rest of the team followed Kitty to a hidden elevator.

Wanda grew increasingly nervous the closer they got to McCoy's office. She hated hospitals, nurse's offices or anything that resembled a place to die in. As they exited the elevator and walked down a long, metal hallway Wanda thought: _'Magda died in a place that looked like this.'_ It was a morbid thought, especially when she was only in such a place because of a simple hand injury but it didn't change her nervousness and it didn't diminish the nagging feeling in her stomach that made her want to run to her brother and throw herself into his arms.

"Well, this is it." Kitty stated, pointing to a metal door with black letters that said _'Hank McCoy, MD'_

Wanda nodded, slipped her arm out of Todd's grasp and turned to the Brotherhood.

"Pietro..." She started.

In mere seconds Pietro was by her side, his hand holding on to her uninjured one in an assuring manner. Knowing that she didn't need to say anything more, she raised her injured hand and gently knocked on the door. Her knock barley echoed a sound at all but it was enough for seconds later, the door opened and a blue mutant stood before her.

"Ahh, Miss. Maximoff. To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"

Wanda smiled and held up her bandaged hand.

"This. Do you have enough time to take a look at it?" She asked, not wanting to be an inconvenience.

"That I do. I'm afraid that my office won't hold the entire Brotherhood, though." Hank stated, looking at the mutants behind her with apologetic eyes.

"That's fine, we'll wait out here." A voice stated, a voice that sounded a lot like Lance.

Hank's eyes flicked to where the quiet voice came from and was surprised to find that the voice was, indeed Lance's. Hank didn't think he had ever seen the earth shattering mutant look so downtrodden before. He was always happy, angry or indifferent, never quiet and reserved. Casting a final, concerned look at the long haired mutant, Hank turned back to Wanda as she began to speak.

"Can my brother come in with me, though?" She asked, squeezing Pietro's hand for comfort.

Hank smiled down at the young woman and nodded, noticing the uncertain look on her face. He sympathized with her. Being the daughter of Magneto carried a lot with it but it was nice to know that she and her brother were so close, that she had people looking out for her. Judging by the looks on the rest of the Brotherhood, though, Hank suspected that even if she and Pietro weren't that close, she would still be loved and cared for.

Shaking himself from his revere, Hank ushered the two younger mutants into his office and shut the door. Once they were alone in the hallway, Kitty turned to Lance.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked, her hand caressing his face.

"Nothing." Lance muttered, looking anywhere but her eyes.

"Don't lie to me. What happened in that office?" She inquired, her voice shaking slightly at the thought of bad news.

"I...I'm not allowed to say." Lance replied taking her hand and kissing the palm of it. Releasing her, Lance turned and walked off down the hallway and Kitty didn't follow. He needed to be alone and she would respect that.

* * *

_Hank's Office..._

"So Miss. Maximoff, before I take a look at your hand, what happened?" Hank asked taking out some gloves and putting them on.

"I slipped getting out of the shower. I stuck my hand out to break my fall and ended up with my hand in a mirror." Wanda explained, leaning her head on Pietro's shoulder.

Hank looked at the two of them a moment and noticed how small they looked. They were sitting on his examining table side by side, holding each others hand and leaning on each other like they were all the other hand. In a sense, they were. They were what was left of their _real_ family.

"Well that doesn't seem too serious but let's have a look, shall we?"

Wanda held out her hand to McCoy who took it gently and began to unwind the gauze around it. When the bandage was completely off, McCoy inspected it closely, putting pressure on some cuts to determine how deep they were and just to make sure that all the glass is out.

"Well my dear, I must say this is a wonderfully bandaged cut and expertly taken care of. You just might have a future in first aid." He laughed, inspecting the cut at the base of her forefinger.

"Not me, Laura." Wanda said absentmindedly.

"Laura? She sure is a switch from Wolverine then." McCoy mused, still enthralled with her pointer finger. "He doesn't care how he heals as long as it's done. He has absolutely no respect for the medical process."

Pietro opened his mouth to speak, to assert that his girlfriend was far from the Wolverine protégé that everyone expected but a warning look from Wanda kept him silent.

"What about this wound?" McCoy asked, breaking the silence. "This one is too clean and too even to come from glass."

"The glass went too far in on that one and Laura had to cut it open with her claws to get it out." Wanda explained, noting the look of disgust on Pietro's face.

"Well she did a magnificent job. A very clean cut. Did she sterilize your wound as well?" He asked, looking up at Wanda.

Wanda nodded and smiled at McCoy's obvious pleasure at Laura's work. She would have to tell her later what a wonderful job she did.

"Absolutely marvelous. I think it's safe to say that with a medical genius such as Laura on your team, the Brotherhood should be in terrific shape. However, if there is a time when you need my assistance, please feel free to drop back by. You are an absolute pleasure to have in my office, Miss. Maximoff. You don't know how many of my patients turn into big babies at the thought of going to the med bay." He told her, re-sterilizing her wound and putting a clean bandage on it.

"Is that so?" Wanda commented, remembering how frightened she herself had been to come down here.

"Oh yes. Some of the biggest men in the house weep like little babies once they get down here." McCoy laughed. "Well, that should do it, Miss. Maximoff."

"Wanda."

"Pardon?"

"Call me Wanda. Miss. Maximoff just sounds weird."

"Alright, Wanda. Your hand should be fine as long as you keep it clean and keep a new bandage on it. It'll be better before you know it." McCoy smiled.

"Thank you, Mr. McCoy." Wanda stated, returning his smile.

"Please call me Hank, Wanda. We are on the same team after all, are we not?"

"Thank you Hank. Not only for taking care of my hand but for doing so without an appointment as well."

"You're very welcome, my dear. You and your Brotherhood can stop by anytime you need assistance. No appointment needed." He assured, taking the hand that Pietro offered to him.

Pietro opened his mouth to give his own thanks but Wanda shushed him.

"Shh. What's that noise?" She asked, looking around, trying to find the source.

"What noise?" Pietro whispered.

Listening closer Wanda sighed and said: "It sounds like Lance."

Seconds later the ground began to shake and Pietro caught her hand to steady her.

"I think you're right, my dear. That was indeed Lance." Hank affirmed. "I think you'd better get out there before he brings the roof down on us."

Wanda nodded and bid him a quick farewell before rushing out of the office. Once in the hallway Wanda saw Lance and the Brotherhood, including Kitty facing Wolverine, whose claws were unsheathed.

"What in blazes is going on out here?" She asked, gaining everyone's attention instantly.

"Wolverine just came out of no where and pulled Kitty to the side, yelling at her. When I told him to cool it, he about stabbed me!" Lance exclaimed making the mansion shake just a little.

"Is that true, Kitty?" Wanda asked, looking directly at the younger girl.

Kitty nodded, putting her hand on Lance's arm to calm him down.

At Kitty's nod, Wanda turned to Wolverine, eyes blazing with anger.

"Who the hell do you think you are, coming down here and yelling at someone for no reason? Attacking one of my men for nothing?" She asked, her voice calm but demanding.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I was coming to confront her about your little scouting mission. While we're on the subject, who do you think you are takin' a kid into a place like the Hellfire Club?" Wolverine snarled, approaching her.

The ground began to rumble once again as he grew closer and the sound of John's lighter opening could be heard.

"Do you know what the definition of scouting is, you big oaf?" Wanda bit off. "If you want to complain to someone, go do it to Xavier. I got his permission before she went and she's not a kid. She's a big girl who can make her own decisions."

"_I_ say she's still a kid and _I'm_ the one who counts. She's an X-man not a member of the Brotherhood. You'd do well to remember that, Witch." Wolverine growled, sheathing his claws.

Wanda's blood boiled and she walked right up to Wolverine. Poking him in the chest she said: "You don't tell me what to do or how to conduct my team. That's right, _my_ team. Kitty's not just a member of the X-men, she's also a member of the Brotherhood and _you'd_ do well to remember that. Oh and if you ever attack another one of my Brotherhood unprovoked again, I promise you that it'll be the last thing you'll ever do 'cause I'll hex the life right out of your body. See if your healing factor can fix that." She stated, turning around. "Brotherhood, I think we've overstayed our welcome. It's time for us to say au revoir."

The words were pretty and given as a statement, but the Brotherhood knew it was a command and turned to leave.

"What about me, Wanda? My weekend is up." Kitty said, looking at the floor.

"Kitty, you're a member of the Brotherhood now. You can come with us or stay here; you don't need my permission to do either."

Kitty smiled and said: "Then I think I have some things to discuss with Professor Xavier."

"Take all the time you need, Kitty. Whatever choice you make, I'm sure it'll be the right one for you."

"Oh it won't take long." Kitty promised. "Do you guys think you could give me a minute?"

"Absolutely. We'll be waiting in the driveway. Take your time." Wanda smiled, hugging the younger girl before walking down the hall after her team.

* * *

_Brotherhood House..._

The day was gone and it was late when everything at the Brotherhood finally settled. What had seemed to be, at first, a simple meeting with Xavier turned into moving day for Kitty. Granted that with Pietro helping, moving time was cut in half, it was still a tiring thing. In the end, Kitty was where she belonged, in the Brotherhood House and settled in Lance's room with all of her things. Their room, rather and their things. Everything was theirs now and Wanda could tell that Lance couldn't be happier.

Wanda sighed as she fell onto her daybed. Everything seemed to be going in the right direction for the Brotherhood and she couldn't be happier. Well she could be, if only John would talk to her. She had tried to speak with him today, but there never seemed to be enough time.

Just as Wanda felt her eyelids starting to droop, a knock sounded at her door. She groaned and rolled off her bed mumbling something about people having no respect for bedtime. When Wanda finally reached the door, she was thoroughly surprised to see John on the other side. Without a word she moved from in front of the doorway to allow him entrance and shut the door behind him.

"Is there something you wanted?" She asked, sounding more agitated than she had intended.

"I was just making sure that you were OK. You kinda lost it today." He muttered, looking down at the floor.

"You mean with Wolverine?" She asked, noticing his shy demeanor.

John nodded and looked up at her.

"Are you? Alright I mean." He inquired. "I mean you kinda..."

"Scared you?" She offered.

"How did you...?"

"I scared myself." She interrupted. "It's times like those that I can't forget who my father is. He has a temper like that. A raging temper that scares the people around him, that's why I try to be easy going like my mother. If I lose my temper, I scare not only myself but you guys and Pietro. You know, that used to be an insult between us when we were little. If one of us was getting on the others nerves we would say: 'You are so like dad!' Mom didn't say anything because she knew how it was." Wanda explained walking over to her bed and sitting down.

She motioned for John to sit as well and he obliged, pulling up her desk chair.

"Mom said he wasn't always like that, though. She said he used to be fun and happy, kinda like Pietro. She said that he only grew mean and hard once Anya died." (1)

"Who's Anya?" John asked curiously.

"She was mine and Pietro's older sister. We never got to meet her; she died before we were born. Mom said that's when everything changed, though. When mom and dad got married, mom was a traveling gypsy and once they were married, they traveled with her family. Mom always said that the happiest day in the world was when Anya was born."

"What happened?" John inquired, scooting his chair closer to Wanda.

"When Anya was about five or six, they were traveling through this village that was new territory to them. Moms' family usually made yearly rounds through the same places. Friendly places that were full of nice people who liked the gypsy entertainment. This village though was a new one. New settlers trying to establish a better environment for themselves. Mom said they were mean, though. They hated the gypsies and they didn't want them there so her family was only going to stay a little while. Gypsies are peaceful and don't want to cause trouble, so they were on their way out of town but they had to stop for supplies. Anya asked for some money and went into a candy store by herself. Mom and dad didn't think anything of it, the children ran around all the time and went into different stores to buy things, they didn't cause any trouble. Something happened, though and the store caught on fire. The store owners got out fine but Anya got disoriented and was trapped. Daddy wanted to go in after her but the townsfolk held him back. They said the world could use one less gypsy."

"What about the other gypsies? Didn't they try to help?" John questioned, thoroughly interested in Wanda's tale. It wasn't often that she talked about her past so what she was offering to him now was a gift. A true gift, time to learn more about her.

"The other gypsies tried to help but the townsfolk started a fight. The store burned to the ground with Anya in it. Mom said that was when da...Magneto changed into a cold man. She said her death never left him. She hoped that mine and Pietro's birth would change things but I think we only made it worse. When mom died, Magneto became unbearable. Pietro and I were thirteen and our powers were just starting to develop. Pietro would have times where he would talk really fast, or yell really fast. If he got excited, it got worse. Magneto sent him to a foster home; with me it was different, though. My powers were completely out of control. If I got emotional or angry, things would break or spontaneously combust or something or another. Instead of trying to help me or finding someone that would make things better, he put me in an asylum and started his quest for world domination." Wanda explained.

There were no tears like John expected there to be, instead there was a blank stare and her voice was completely indifferent. She was empty and it was Magneto's fault.

"Wanda, I'm so sorry." John started.

"Why, it's not your fault. You weren't even there." She reasoned, snapping out of her indifferent state.

"I don't just mean for your past. I also want to apologize for last night. I shouldn't have reacted that way. Can you ever forgive me?" John asked, fully prepared to be shot down.

"Oh John, of course I can, I'm partly to blame too. I shouldn't have lead you on like that and for that, I'm sorry." She apologized, reaching over and taking his hand.

John raised her free hand, the one with the bandage and kissed the top of it.

"I'm sorry for this too." He said, watching as she smiled. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" He asked sincerely.

"You can hold me." She replied softly.

So there they were, two mutants who, just a few hours ago weren't even on speaking terms, now clinging to each other for dear life. The love felt by both surrounded them in a warm blanket and added something special to the peaceful silence that they shared.

* * *

**Notes: **

_1. Anya really is a Marvel character and really is Pietro and Wanda's older sister who died. She belongs to Marvel, not me._

* * *

_Chapter Ten!!! This chapter is for __Valkyrien__, who is injured right now and is unable to update her own fic, __The Scarlet Letter__. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, but you especially. A big thanks to everyone who reads and an even bigger thanks to everyone who reviews. Have a wonderful day and I hope you see fit to stay tuned for the next chapter. _

_-anon g_ **;)**


	11. Doctor Visits

_Daughter of Destruction _

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own X-men, X-men Evolution, the Hellfire Club, the characters or the House of M concept. That all belongs to Marvel.

**Notes:** I would like to thank LadyMageLuna and Valkyrien for reviewing. You guys rock!

I would also like to warn Jonda peoples that this chapter will focus a whole lot on X-ietro. I still haven't been giving them airtime and this will introduce them into a side-plot. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

_Chapter Eleven: Doctor Visits_

_Brotherhood House..._

Everything went smoothly around the 'Hood House for the next few days until one morning Laura found herself in the kitchen, waiting for someone to wake up to keep her company. She had already started on breakfast but for her, cooking was terribly boring especially when she had a lot of things on her mind. She and Pietro had had a mini-fight last night; the worst part was she couldn't even remember what it was about. Something about emotions and moods and then they had went to bed angry and when she woke up, Pietro was gone. It wasn't unusual for Pietro to just take off but he usually told her before he went or at least left a note.

Laura jumped when someone tapped her on the shoulder, she had been so caught up in her thinking that she hadn't sensed anyone coming downstairs. Laura immediately launched herself at the person behind her and started to mumble incoherently into their shoulder.

Shaking off her surprise, Wanda put her arms around the younger girl and patted her back soothingly. "Where's Pietro?" Were the first words out of Wanda's mouth at seeing the former weapon so distressed.

"I don't know. We had a fight and when I woke up this morning, he was gone. He didn't leave me a note or anything!" Laura exclaimed. "I was hoping he'd left one in your room."

"No, I'm sorry. Besides, I wasn't in my room last night." Wanda told her, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck.

Laura temporarily snapped out of her frantic state and shot Wanda a knowing glance before starting with her ranting again.

"Where could he be?" She asked, running her hands through her messy hair.

"I don't know where he is but I do know that the eggs are burning." Wanda laughed moving past Laura and to the stove. Turning the burner off, Wanda turned and looked back at Laura. "Come over here and sit down at the table with me." Wanda said, ushering Laura to the kitchen table. "First off, tell me what happened."

"I don't really remember. It was a stupid fight and I was tired. All I know is we went to bed angry and I woke up and he was gone. You know just as well as I do that he could be anywhere by now!" Laura exclaimed.

Wanda shushed the younger girl and took her hand.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Pietro is a big boy and he can handle himself. He probably just wanted to blow off some steam." Wanda soothed.

"I have no problem with him blowing off steam; I would just appreciate it if he would tell me he's going to do so and when he expects to be back!"

Wanda nodded in understanding feeling a lit twinge of worry herself. Pietro never just took off without telling _someone_.

_'He must have been really pissed.'_ Wanda thought. _'Or he thought__** Laura**__ was really pissed.' _

Wanda shook herself from her thoughts as Laura's hand squeezed hers and her other hand covered her mouth.

"Laura are you OK? You don't look well."

Laura was silent for a moment before she spoke.

"I'm not sure. I've been feeling sick lately, which is weird because of my healing factor. I don't get sick, it's not possible." Laura told her, true fear in her voice. Whether it was for Pietro or herself, though, Wanda couldn't be sure.

"Have you been physically sick or are you just not feeling well?" Wanda asked, feeling Laura's forehead.

"I threw up yesterday morning and last night after my fight with Pietro. I thought it was just stress though."

"Maybe you should go see Dr. McCoy." Wanda suggested, a strange look coming over her face.

"Do you really think it's that serious?" Laura asked, noting the look and becoming even more worried than before.

"I'm not sure. I think you should check it out, though." Wanda advised, looking at the table. "Don't worry, I'll fix breakfast, you just rest."

"Alright. Thanks Wanda." Laura said, hugging her. "I'll go see McCoy this afternoon."

When Wanda was sure Laura was gone, she sighed and put her head in her hands. Laura's raging emotions at Pietro's disappearance, feeling sick even with her healing factor? Wanda could only think of one thing that could be causing such problems and she could only hope that she was wrong. If Pietro took off after a measly fight in which the topic of such was so insignificant as to not be remembered, Wanda could only guess what he would do if Laura was expecting. Not that Wanda wouldn't love it, she was ecstatic over just the thought; she just feared how both Pietro and Laura would react.

* * *

_Xavier Mansion..._

After hours of resting and worrying, Laura had finally acquired Lance's jeep and snuck away from the Brotherhood house without being too obvious that something was wrong. It was all over the 'Hood House by now that Pietro was gone and they had been fighting and while Laura appreciated the love and care she received, it was a tad annoying, especially when she didn't know where Pietro was and what was wrong with her.

Laura ascended the front steps of the Xavier Institute and rang the doorbell wearily, hoping that no one would ask too many questions about her presence. When the door finally opened, she was disappointed to find that Wolverine was the one on the other side.

He looked her over, looked behind her and sniffed the air; he was no doubt making sure she was alone before speaking.

"Something I can help you with?" He asked gruffly.

"There's nothing_ you_ can help me with at all. I need to see Dr. McCoy. It's urgent." She said, defiant as ever in the face of a potential enemy.

Wolverine cocked his head to the side, more than likely thinking over the girls' healing factor. After a moment he nodded and stepped back, allowing her entrance.

Laura stood in the doorway looking at something behind Wolverine and said: "Is there any possible way that I can speak with McCoy without being noticed by everyone?"

Wolverine looked from Laura to where she was looking. Seeing Bobby and Jubilee, the grape-vine of the mansion, he nodded and took her arm gently, leading her into the kitchen.

The trip down to the lower floor of the mansion was a long and silent one. Wolverine was trying to figure out what his clone would need with McCoy and Laura was trying to run through possible explanations as to what might be wrong with her.

When the two reached McCoy's office, Wolverine waited for her to knock and when she didn't he said: "Cold feet?"

Laura shook herself from her self-pitying stupor and shot him a glare.

"No, but I was hoping this would be a _private_ venture." She said icily.

Wolverine laughed and walked down the hallway, stopping when he was just out of sight. He knew that if she had been up to par, he would be detected and most likely confronted but the way she seemed on the way down to the med lab, he knew she wouldn't figure out he was there.

Once she knocked and got McCoy's attention he listened to see if anything would be revealed.

"Well, Miss. Laura. What brings you to my humble office? I figured that you being an expert healer, you wouldn't have need for my assistance." Hank greeted, smiling from ear to ear. His smile wasn't cocky or condescending, however, it was friendly and genuinely surprised by her presence.

"That's what I'm hear about, Doc. I'm feeling a little under the weather and I know that shouldn't be possible. Wanda told me I should come see you. I hope I haven't come at a bad time. I could come back later if you're busy." She blurted out.

Hank looked at her curiously. Laura Kinney was anything but nervous and bumbling, at least in the time that he had been around her. Sensing something terribly wrong, he said: "Absolutely not, my dear. I told Wanda the other day that if any of the Brotherhood needed me; they could come over, no appointment needed. Come in my dear and tell me what's been ailing you."

Wolverine listened to the scene play out in curiosity. Under the weather? That definitely didn't sound right. Once he was sure that the door was shut and no one would notice him, he crept back down the hall to just outside the door. Call him nosy but he was thoroughly curious now and nothing would stop him from finding out what was going on.

* * *

_McCoy's Office..._

"So my dear, what exactly is wrong?" Hank asked, putting gloves on.

"Well I've been feeling sick lately and I threw up twice yesterday. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened to me, Doc. I'm a little on the scared side." She admitted.

Hank nodded and sympathized with the young woman.

"I'm sure everything is fine, my dear. First things first, though. Has anything out of the ordinary happened lately?"

"You mean personally or physically?"

"Either one. Outside influences like stress and routine disruption can cause physical illness. Maybe that's why your healing factor isn't taking care of it. So, has anything out of the ordinary disrupted your daily life lately?"

"Well, Pietro and I had a fight yesterday and when I woke up this morning and he was gone." Laura explained, feeling uneasy about sharing personal information with a stranger.

"Then it's probably just stress." Hank told her, writing something down on a piece of paper. His statement wasn't nonchalant, though. He could sense that she was worried and so he didn't dismiss anything, he would give her a thorough check up if that's what it took to quell the girls' fears.

"That's what I thought but Wanda doesn't think so. Plus, I was feeling bad before yesterday." Laura stated, sitting down on the examining bed.

"Have you been having any other problems besides throwing up?" Hank asked, looking up from his notebook to make eye contact.

"I don't think so. I do remember something about mine and Pietro's fight, though. It was something about mood swings and I'm not sure, but I think we were fighting about mine. It's hard to remember though." She explained bringing her knees to her chest.

Hank studied the young woman a moment before a light went off in his head.

"Miss. Laura, this might be a personal question but, are you and Mr. Maximoff sexually active?"

Laura looked stunned for a moment before nodding slowly, waiting to see where this Q and A was going.

"Has your monthly cycle been a bit...off lately?"

Laura nodded again and said: "Since last month sometime, why?"

Hank nodded and approached Laura slowly.

"Miss. Laura I would like to conduct a pregnancy test, with your permission of course." Hank said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Laura's eyes widened as she finally caught on and she put her head in her hands. A baby? What would Pietro say? What would the Brotherhood say? More importantly what would Sabretooth say? Laura succumbed to the emotions she had been holding back and cried into her hands.

"A baby?" She murmured.

"I take it this is not a happy prospect." Hank said, bringing his arms around the crying girl.

In a matter of seconds she had transformed from a controlled and composed young woman to a weeping child and Hank didn't really know how to handle it.

"It's not that I wouldn't ever want a baby but Pietro's not here, he'd probably hate the idea and..." Laura trailed before bursting into tears again.

"Don't worry, child. Nothing is a for definite at this point. I would just like to run a few tests, that's all. Hopefully we'll be able to mark that off the list of options and try something different." Hank soothed, though it seemed that the crying girl in his arms wasn't listening.

After about five minutes, Laura's tears ceased and she pulled her head out of his shoulder. Composing herself she said: "Let's get this over with. If I'm gone too long, the Brotherhood will probably send a search party out."

Hank smiled at the young woman's courage and sudden change of mood and nodded.

* * *

_Outside Dr. McCoy's Office..._

After about an hour of listening in on their conversation, Wolverine found himself completely in shock. His clone was pregnant? Or _could_ be pregnant, rather. He knew he didn't have any right and even though they weren't close at all, Wolverine felt a feral urge come over him that made him want to track Pietro down and kill him. How dare he get her pregnant and just leave?

Wolverine's thoughts were broken as his ears picked up on Laura and Hank exchanging good-byes inside the office. Wolverine turned and bolted down the hallway. Far enough away so as not to be detected but close enough to hear what was going on.

"Thank you Dr. McCoy." Laura said coming out of the office.

"It was my pleasure, dear. I will have your results in a few days. I can call you to come and pick them up if you'd like." Hank offered, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Laura smiled and said: "Would you? That would be really great, Doc. I was wondering if you could do me one last favor, though."

"Anything."

"Could you keep our little meeting between us? No use in getting the Brotherhood all hyped up for nothing." She said, laughing nervously.

"I have a confidentiality agreement with all my patients, my dear. Even Professor Xavier doesn't know what goes on in my office. Your secret is safe with me." Hank assured, smiling down at her.

Laura leaned over and hugged the blue mutant, thoroughly surprising him for probably the third time that day. Hugging her back he said: "I'm sure everything will be fine, dear. You get home now, wouldn't want the Brotherhood sending out that search party we talked about. I'm sure I could corral one of the boys into giving you a ride home if you're in need of one." Hank offered politely.

Laura laughed and shook her head.

"That's alright, Doc. I _'borrowed'_ Lance's jeep before coming over here. Thanks anyway, though. I'll see you later, Mr. McCoy."

"I'll be anxiously awaiting our next visit, child." Hank stated before turning around and walking back into his office.

Laura started her trek down the hallway in what she hoped was the direction of the elevator. Stopping just short of it, she pulled out her phone and dialed a familiar number. She smiled when a gruff, concerned voice greeted her and, thinking she was alone, began to speak.

"Hey...No. Everything's fine, I just need to talk to you about something...Can you meet up with me later on at the house?...No...I'm sure...Yes I'm fine...I just need to talk to you about some things...Like my living arrangements, that's what...Alright, I'll see you then...I love you too...Bye Sabey."

Laura hung up her phone and stepped into the elevator. Just before it started to move, she could have sworn she heard a growl coming from the other side.

* * *

_There's chapter eleven. I know it's short and I'm sorry but this chapter literally took me forever to write. I hope you all enjoyed it, even with its major lack of Jonda and yes, Beast is indeed becoming a father figure to the girls of the 'Hood House. Just a reminder, though don't jump to conclusions; things are not as they appear. I want to take this time to thank everyone for reading and I hope you all see fit to review. Have a great day and stay tuned for the next chapter._

_-anon g._ **;)**


	12. Talks All Around

_Daughter of Destruction _

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own X-men, X-men Evolution, the Hellfire Club, the characters or the House of M concept.

**Notes:** A big thank you goes out to Valkyrien and LadyMageLuna who reviewed for the last chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this one as well.

* * *

_Chapter Twelve: Talks All Around_

_Brotherhood House..._

Wanda sighed and shut her phone.

_'This is not good. Not good at all.'_ She thought lying back on her bed. _'Pietro isn't gonna like this...' _

Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock at the door.

"Come in." She called.

When the door opened and saw that John was the person on the other side, she motioned for him to step in and shut the door.

"Hey..." She started happily. Maybe he could get her mind off the stupid thing Laura just did.

"Hey." He greeted briskly. "Have you seen Laura? All the guys are worried about her and frankly, so am I. She left early this afternoon and it's about dark and she's still not back." He stated walking over and sitting beside her on the bed.

Wanda sighed once again and said: "She's fine."

"How can you be so sure? How do you know she's not somewhere looking for Pietro? That stupid git, just takin' off like that and not tellin' anyone!" John exclaimed.

"I know because she just called me. She said she was OK and that she's over at Sabretooth's. She's decided to stay there for a while." Wanda told him, putting a hand on his arm to calm him down.

"What? Are you really gonna let her do that?" John asked, turning worried eyes to Wanda.

"What do you mean _'let'_? You know just as well as I do that no one _lets_ Laura Kinney do anything. All she told me was that she needed to work some things out." Wanda stated sitting up.

"What things? What happened between her and Pietro?" John inquired looking Wanda directly in the eye, searching for the truth.

"She doesn't remember. That means either the fight wasn't that important, which is doubtful or it was emotionally damaging to her system. It's a chemical reflex Weapon-X implanted in her brain. If something tragic or potentially emotionally damaging happens to her, her brain just forgets it. It was supposed to help keep her a weapon, not let any emotions get involved." Wanda explained playing with a loose string on her comforter.

"How do you know that?" John asked incredulously.

"I have files on all of my team, John. And before you ask, that includes you as well." She told him rubbing her forehead.

"Oh. Well how can she remember her childhood then?" John challenged. "That's pretty tragic and emotional if you ask me."

"The memory wiper wasn't implanted in her brain until she was eleven. She can remember everything, even exact details up until that point. That's when her emotional memories, things like her mother dying, get fuzzy."

John sat back and said nothing for a while, just silently taking in all the problems and drama that was Laura Kinney. Her life was so tragic and the last thing she needed was Pietro being an ass.

"Has she been at Sabretooth's all day?" John suddenly asked.

Wanda looked up, startled by the question and took a minute in answering. Should she reveal that Laura went to McCoy's office? Especially after what Laura had told her on the phone?

"No. She was at the Xavier Mansion before then." Wanda said, figuring that she wouldn't be revealing too much that way. The guys were still Laura's family no matter what and they had a right to know that she was going through a rough time.

"What was she doing there?" John asked curiously.

"She wanted to see Dr. McCoy. She said she hadn't been feeling well lately and I told her that she should probably see someone about it." Wanda revealed, still fiddling with the loose string on the blanket underneath her.

"That's impossible, she never gets sick. What if something's wrong with her? Can we really leave her at Sabretooth's? Not that he's not a swell guy or anything but with her not feeling well and all? What if she's caught the Legacy Virus?" John rattled off, standing up. (1)

"Please, John. The Legacy Virus is completely new and there's only one mutant who has it right now and he's under quarantine." Wanda reasoned, pulling him back down on the bed. "She's fine; she's not going through anything that every other woman doesn't go through at one point or another."

John's head snapped to Wanda and his eyes grew wide.

"You don't mean...?" He trailed and Wanda rolled her eyes.

"You know, any other guy wouldn't have gotten that. Why do you have to be so smart?" She asked putting her head in her hands. "You do know that you can't tell anyone, right? I mean she doesn't even know for sure yet."

"What about Pietro? When he gets back and finds that his girlfriend magically disappeared into a cloud of dust, don't you think he's gonna ask questions?" John asked.

"Well when Pietro gets back, first he's going to get a good talking to about running off without letting his team and more importantly, his sister know. Then he has to spill about exactly what that fight was about and why it made him run off and _then_ he can ask questions. That doesn't mean we'll answer them, though." Wanda explained with a huff.

First she found out the Hellfire Club wanted her, then her problems with John and now Pietro's gone and Laura might be pregnant so she's staying at Sabretooth's! Everything really _was_ falling apart and Wanda didn't know how many more blows to the ego the Brotherhood could take before the Brotherhood would be no more. It was a heart wrenching thought. The Brotherhood might go down the tubes and they'd all part ways. It was something Wanda didn't even want to think about but she had to. She was forced to. She was their leader. She had to think everything through thoroughly so that nothing could take her by surprise. If she had an emotional break down and her powers went out of control, it really would be the end of the Brotherhood and Wanda couldn't let that happen. Her first order of business would be to get Laura back but Wanda knew she couldn't convince Laura to come back until she at least got her results back from McCoy. That would take a few days.

_'Mmm.'_ Wanda thought. _'I wonder if I could convince the guys that she's just on her period. Maybe that would keep them from asking too many questions...' _

Wanda shook her head. It was a silly idea. The guys were sensitive, concerned worry warts, they would never take that explanation as a true answer and they would pester Wanda endlessly until she told them what was going on. Wanda could only hope that Laura wasn't pregnant and would come home before Pietro got back because if she didn't, Wanda would have to tell him. Pietro was her twin and he knew when something was wrong with her. He would be able to tell she was lying and he would pester her about it. Or worse, he would kill John to get the information since John knew too. Wanda sighed.

_'That was a mistake.'_ She thought. _'I should have never let on to John that Laura might be pregnant.' _

Even in the vaguest sense she should have known that John would figure it out. His mind wasn't as one-tracked and simple as the rest of the guys. Maybe it was that he was older or maybe his overall superiority in maturity. Wanda wasn't sure and at this point, she didn't care, she just had to keep John quiet in case Pietro came back before she could convince Laura to come home.

John silently watched Wanda as she stared off into space. He knew that look on her face. It was the look she got when she was thinking over tactical maneuvers in battle. She was, no doubt trying to keep everything together and John knew how hard it was. She loved the entire Brotherhood as a whole _and_ as individuals but Pietro and Laura were her backbone. Laura was her very first girlfriend just as she was to Laura. They had a special bond that no one could explain and it helped Wanda to have that special girl bond with someone. Pietro was Wanda's rock and as much as John wanted that position to be his, he knew it never would. Wanda and Pietro had a special bond as twins. They had times when they would look at each other and know exactly what the other was thinking. They would sometimes finish each others sentences and they were always on the same page. Wanda would crumble if Pietro stayed away too long and John could only try to fill the void that Pietro had temporarily left.

"John, if...when Pietro gets back, I want you to keep quiet about Laura." Wanda said suddenly. "Laura's little secret needs to stay between you and I and when Pietro gets back, I want you to plead ignorance." Wanda told him, still looking into space, a blank look on her face. "If everything goes well, Laura will be home before he comes back and he never has to know the upset he's caused."

John nodded and asked: "What if Pietro gets back before Laura comes home?"

Wanda sighed and flicked her eyes to him, looking more like her usual self.

"Then I'll make up something but either way, you keep quiet. Don't talk about anything we've said in this room with anyone and let me handle Pietro."

"When do you think he'll be back?"

"It's hard to say. It depends on what happened and right now he's the only one who knows. From his reaction, I'm guessing it was bad and Laura's no help to us right now. She remembers it was something about emotions and moods but she can't remember the whole thing. She _thinks_ they went to bed mad but I'm not so sure." Wanda said trailing off as her look became distant again.

"What do you mean, luv? Why would Laura lie?"

"I don't think she's lying but I do think that chemical Weapon-X implanted in her brain isn't only wiping memories, I think it's making replacement ones as well..." Wanda mused running her hands through her hair.

John watched the action and suddenly looked away.

"Can they do that? I mean is there a drug that can create memories?" He inquired.

"I'm not sure but if there was, Weapon-X would be the place you could find it." She mumbled, lying back on her bed.

John reclined with her and reached out to turn her face towards his.

"Hey luv," He started. "Everything's gonna be fine. Pietro and Laura will come home even if we have to drag them here." He assured pulling her closer.

* * *

_Sabretooth's Apartment..._

Victor walked into his kitchen to find Laura sitting at the table, coke in hand and staring into space blankly. She was thinking. Victor knew how hard it was to not be able to remember something vital and he knew she was trying her hardest to conjure up the memory of what happened.

"Penny for your thoughts, kid."

Laura looked up, startled. She hadn't heard him come it. She wasn't hearing many things lately. She needed to get her act together or pretty soon she would be useless.

_'You don't use it, you lose it.'_ She thought sullenly placing her coke on the table.

Victor watched as her blank stare turned to surprise, then to thoughtful and back to blank. He hated seeing her like this and he would probably kill Pietro once he got his hands on him. Victor wasn't as concerned about the fact that she might be pregnant as he was about the mental damage she was going through. She was trying to remember so badly and she couldn't and he knew it was tough. It would drive her crazy until she figured it out and that's why she had asked to stay with him. She wasn't only worried about her test results she was worried about her sanity. If she tried to remember last night's events too hard, she would force her brain into overload. It had happened before, that's how her mother had ended up dying. Laura's mental overload. It was painful for Victor but he knew she wanted to work this problem out on her own; all he could do was offer to listen when she was ready.

"Actually, I do need to talk to you about something." She told him. "What about this baby...thing? What am I going to do? Should I tell Pietro when he comes back or not?" Laura asked staring at him with wide, hopeful eyes.

Laura was a child in so many ways and Victor knew that she looked to him for guidance. Logan had already escaped Weapon-X when the cloning project started but Victor had still been bound there. Victor watched Laura grow up and he was there with her through it all. He _had_ been her trainer after all. Everything she knew about fighting, she learned from him. Her tactical maneuvers? His. Her current uniform even mirrored the one he used at Weapon-X. Victor wished he could take her pain away. Do something to help her out and give her all the answers she was looking for. He wish he could be sympathetic and all that other jazz but he couldn't, he wasn't built that way, that's why when he answered, Laura's face fell. (2&3)

"Why tell him? You won't be able to have the kid anyway." He had blurted out.

Laura's face immediately grew somber and her eyes filled with tears.

_'Oh hell.'_ Victor thought. _'Now you've done it. Great job stupid.'_

He was instantly on his knees beside her chair and pulling her into his arms for comfort.

He hated it when she cried. Truth be told, he hated it when any women cried but she was different. She never showed emotion. It was the way she was conditioned and it wasn't right but the sight of her crying made him feel as if the world was coming to an end. She hadn't even cried when Sarah died. (4)

"I'm sorry Victor; I don't know what's wrong with me." She sobbed. "My emotions are going crazy and I'm either crying, angry or indifferent. There's no in between and I don't know what to do about it! I can't stop it and I'm scared."

"Hey now," Victor started. "Everything will be just fine. I'm here for you and Wanda's here for you. The Brotherhood is always there for you, I know and you've always got a family with the Weapon-X crew." He soothed pushing her hair away from her face. "Do you want me to call Nessa or Wade? I can even call Kane if you want." (5)

Laura laughed and said: "No, I think I'll be fine. I'll call Nessie later, though." She promised wiping her tears and smearing her make up in the process.

"Here let me help. You're doin' it wrong." Victor laughed and bringing his large hands to her face, he gently wiped her tears with his fingers, taking the smeared make up with them. "There," He started, wiping the make up off his hands with a napkin. "Much better. You'd better get some sleep kid. You look worn out."

Laura nodded and kissed his cheek before rising and leaving the kitchen.

"And don't sleep on the couch either! You'll have a major crick in your neck in the morning. You're taking the bed tonight!" He called after her.

Victor laughed as her response drifted back to him in the form of a prettily worded sarcastic remark.

_'Women.'_ He thought. _'Can't_ _live with 'em...can't live with 'em.'_ His thoughts finished lamely.

Victor wasn't used to having a woman around. Even though he practically raised Laura at the Weapon-X facility, he had spent years living alone since then. It was going to take some time to get used to having her back in his life on a day to day basis but at the moment, he couldn't be happier. He just hoped he could keep his house guest a secret from the Hellfire Club and Magneto. If they found out about Laura, it could blow his cover, his job and quite possibly, his life.

* * *

**Notes: **

_1. The **Legacy Virus** is an actual Marvel Universe disease that belongs to Marvel and not me._

_2. Sabretooth was a part of Weapon-X as most people know, but he wasn't there during Laura's..."creation" that's just for the sake of the plot. Weapon-X also belongs to Marvel and not me in case anyone was wondering._

_3. Just for reference on the part about Laura having a uniform that resembles Sabretooth's, it's true! She did. If anyone wants to see a picture of it, just tell me and I'll be happy to show you one. This part is totally canon and did happen in the comics just for reference._

_4. **Sarah** was the name of Laura's mother. She was an actual Marvel character and doesn't belong to me._

_5.** Nessa**, **Wade** and** Kane** refers to the Marvel characters **Copycat**, **Deadpool **and **Garrison Kane** respectively. They were all part of the Weapon-X project at one time or another but they weren't there when Laura was either. (Sake of the plot people.) They also belong to Marvel and not to me._

* * *

_There's chapter twelve. I do realize that it's most likely shorter than the last one and no, I'm not getting lazy, I promise. I just figured that this would be the best place to end this particular installment. The next chapter will be...fleshier I promise and I will try to update again very soon. I would like to thank everyone for reading and the people who are reviewing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a wonderful day all!_

_-anon g._** ;)**


	13. Just Another Day, Just Another Time

_Daughter of Destruction_

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own X-men, X-men Evolution, the Hellfire Club, Weapon-X, the characters or the House of M concept. Marvel owns it all because they're the luckiest little devils to ever walk the face of the Earth!

**Notes:** I would like to take this time to thank LadyMageLuna and Valkyrien for reviewing. It brings me great pleasure to have reviewers like you and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

* * *

_Chapter Thirteen: Just Another Day, Just Another Time_

_Brotherhood House..._

Wanda groaned as she was awoken from her sleep by an incessant ringing to her left. She moved to reach for her phone but there was a weight on top of her, stopping her movement. Looking down, Wanda saw that John was comfortably situated on top of her and by his light snoring; she didn't expect him to wake up anytime soon.

_'How did we even sleep on this thing without falling off?'_ Wanda wondered silently noting that her daybed was a comfortable place that was meant for one person, not two.

Shaking her head and deeming it unimportant, she gently raised his upper body and moved out from under him, letting him fall onto the daybed face down. Wanda giggled at the sight before sitting on the edge of her bed and answering her still ringing phone.

"Hello." She whispered harshly.

"Nice to speak to you too." Laura responded sounding wide awake.

"It's not that I'm not happy to hear from you, darling, it's just that you woke me up and now I'm trying not to wake John up. How are things?" Wanda asked her tone happier now that she knew she was speaking to Laura.

"Fine. I just wanted to call and see how things were. Is 'Tro back yet?" Laura asked, a worried tone seeping into her voice.

Wanda instantly shrugged but then, remembering she was on the phone and Laura couldn't see her, she said: "I'm not sure. John and I hit the sack early and I haven't checked your room yet."

"Oh." Laura muttered.

Wanda instantly felt bad for having said _'your room'_ when she knew that Laura was missing the 'Hood. It was just a habit that she would have to break until Laura got back.

"I'm sorry, Laura. Let me check." Wanda amended preparing to rise from her bed.

As soon as she started to stand however, a dark hand reached out and grabbed her wrist while an arm came to wrap around her waist and pulled her back down on the bed.

_'John's up.'_ She thought, giggling as he whispered in her ear.

"And just where do you think you're goin', luv?" He asked in a playful tone before burying his face in her crook of her neck.

Wanda put her hand over the speaker of her phone and whispered: "Laura's on the phone. She wants me to go check for Pietro."

John's face quickly went from playful to serious. He instantly released her and gently urged her off the bed. "Go ahead then" He mouthed, lying back down.

Wanda nodded and smiled at how thoughtful he was being before leaving the room and walking down the hall towards Laura and Pietro's room. Opening the door she saw that the room looked just like it did the day before and the bed hadn't been slept in.

Wanda sighed and removed her hand from the phones speaker.

"I'm sorry, Laura. He's still not back yet." She told her growing increasingly worried for her brothers' safety. Just as quickly as it was there, though, it was gone and replaced with rage.

_'If someone out there doesn't kill him, I will when he gets back.'_ She thought angrily turning and slamming the door before walking back to her own room. When she entered John looked up from his spot on the bed expectantly. Wanda shook her head at him and watched as his expression turned angry.

"It's alright." Laura responded, trying to sound happier than she was. "It's probably for the best that he's not home yet anyway."

"Don't lie to me, Laura." Wanda demanded, sitting on the edge of her bed. "You miss him and you know it! Hey, how about I come over to Sabretooth's and keep you company today?"

"Not that I wouldn't love it, but that's a major no-no." Laura stated and Wanda distinctively thought she heard her sigh. "Me being here is risking Sabey so much already. I'll come over by the house today and see you, though." Laura assured, her voice sounding happier at the thought. "I have to get some things anyway." She added, her tone dropping to sadness again.

"Alright." Wanda muttered weakly, upset that Laura was still planning on staying with Sabretooth. "I'll see you about lunch time, is that alright?"

"Yeah. Sabey has to go out and get some groceries anyway."

"Victor? Grocery shopping? God I want to be there and take pictures so bad!" Wanda exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood of the conversation.

"Oh that's nothin'. You should have seen him last night. He cooked!" Laura laughed.

"Man! I miss everything. You seriously need to take pictures for me." Wanda said, joining in her laughter. "I love you." She added a moment later. "I miss you too and so do the guys! John said that all the guys were asking about you last night and Kitty was so worried at dinner."

"Tell everyone I miss them too and that I'll see them in a bit, alright?" Laura told her, her voice sounding slightly choked.

"Will do. Bye."

"Bye."

Wanda hung up and turned to John with a lost look on her face.

"I miss her so much." She whispered before leaning back into his strong arms.

"I know you do, luv. I miss her too but like you said, you can't make that sheila do anything. Just pray that you can talk some sense into her when she gets here." John told her pulling her closer.

"Yeah. I mean a baby won't be but so bad, right? I mean, we can do this. Laura would be a great mom and I'm sure that if...**when** Pietro gets back he'll be happy to be a dad. He's always wanted kids. The Brotherhood would love the idea and you know how they get attached. They'll probably be the most enthusiastic baby-sitters this world has ever seen!" Wanda laughed imagining how ecstatic everyone would be at the thought of a baby around the house. "Oh lord, Kitty would go nuts!"

John sighed and running his hands through her hair he said: "Yeah, but what if she's not pregnant? What if it's something else? Weapon-X did so many things to her that we don't know how this is gonna turn out. They probably didn't even expect her to be able to have kids!" John exclaimed feeling an odd sense of protectiveness over Laura.

He had always been fond of the younger girl. She was probably the only one besides Wanda who could get Pietro to shut up and she certainly could knock his ego down a peg that was for sure.

Wanda sighed and said: "Maybe your right. Maybe it's just me who wants this baby."

John's eyes widened and his hand stopped playing with her hair.

"I didn't mean _I_ wanted to have a baby, stupid. I just meant I kinda like the idea of being someone's aunt. I like the idea of having someone to take care of, someone who needs me. Pietro used to need me but now he's got Laura. Not that I resent Laura!" Wanda quickly amended. "I just...before the asylum I spent all my time with Pietro and we were always taking care of each other. Then after the asylum, we didn't really need to be that protective of each other anymore. I feel unnecessary. Sure the team says they need me, but they could get along without me if they had to. Lance is a great leader and he could easily take my place." Wanda rattled off. "I just want to feel needed."

John took Wanda's shoulders and laid her on the bed beside him so that he was leaning over her.

"That's not true. The Brotherhood would be nothin' without you, luv. You're the backbone of this rag-tag team and don't you forget it. Lance is a great leader but he can't take your place and this team would fall without you. They need you, _I_ need you." He ranted before leaning down and kissing her.

Wanda pulled back first and said: "You don't need me, John. You've lived twenty five years without me, I'm sure you could live another twenty five or so just fine if I up and disappeared tomorrow."

John's hand came up and cupped her face, making her keep eye contact with him.

"Haven't I already told you that I love you? You're my heart, luv. I couldn't live one day without you. I only live my first twenty five years without you 'cause I didn't know what I was missin'!" He exclaimed eyes beaming with sincerity. "If you disappeared tomorrow, I wouldn't be able to go on. If Pietro really loved Laura, he wouldn't be able to just leave and stay gone. That's how I know he'll come back. If he loves Laura with even an ounce of the love I have for you, he'll be home by midnight tonight. Mark my words, luv. When you give someone you're heart, you can't go on without 'em. I need you, you harebrained sheila and I can't imagine my next twenty five years without you in 'em."

Wanda didn't even know she was crying until she felt John's fingers wipe her tears.

"You know what, John?" She asked, reaching up and fisting his hair in her hands.

"Mmm?" He mumbled hand stroking the side of her face.

"That's probably the sweetest thing that anyone's ever said to me." Wanda told him, bringing his head down to hers and kissing him lightly. The kiss only lasted a moment but it sent shivers throughout John's body.

"Well, I do the best I can." He chuckled, trying to get his breathing under control.

Wanda looked up at him and, seeing that his control was leaving him, laughed.

John wished that he could spare the time to be angry at her and her mirth but he couldn't. If he let go of his control now, he would lose it and do something that he would probably never be forgiven for.

"John," She giggled, finding the entire situation awfully funny. "Kiss me."

John groaned and rising from his leaning position over her he said: "I can't."

Wanda grabbed the front of his shirt, the one he had worn yesterday, and pulled him back down towards her.

"I am your leader and you will do as I tell you. Kiss me now and that's an order."

* * *

_Sabretooth's Apartment..._

It took Laura a while to calm down after her talk with Wanda. She hated her emotions and she would be glad when this entire ordeal was over. Emotions were not her strong point and she would be the first person to admit it. It had taken her forever to give Pietro a chance just because she wasn't sure she wanted to go embark on the unmarked territory called love. It was just too complicated and now Laura found herself second guessing the decision she had made way back then.

_'He promised.'_ She thought. _'He_ _promised he wouldn't break my heart and he lied.'_

Just when she thought she could cry no more, tears started to leak from her eyes and no matter how hard she tried to keep them at bay, she couldn't. She was so used to being in control of everything and it was hard when she found something that wouldn't heed to her commands.

"Laura." Victor called from the living room. "Someone's here to see you."

Laura sighed.

_'If its Wanda, I'm gonna kill her. I already told her I'd be over there in a few hours.'_ She thought walking to the living room, giving absolutely no thought to what she was wearing until Victor blushed lightly upon the sight of her and mumbled something about fixing breakfast before retreating into the kitchen.

Laura didn't pay much attention to where he went, however, once she laid eyes on the person standing in front of the couch. Laughing with delight, Laura ran and threw herself into the person's arms.

"Nessie!" She cried, hugging the older, blue skinned woman tightly.

"Hey, kid." Vanessa replied, wrapping her own arms around the young girl. "You know you and Wade are the only two people in the entire world who can get away with calling me _Nessie_?" She laughed, releasing Laura and standing back. "Well look at you! You certainly have grown up. I don't think Vicky likes seeing your sexy side, though." Vanessa told her, gesturing towards her attire that consisted of a short, tight cami and boy shorts.

"Yeah well, I decided on staying with him last minute so the clothes I wore yesterday and this is all I have." Laura informed. "Where's Wade or are you two still together?" Laura asked, sitting on the couch and motioning for Vanessa to do the same.

"Yeah, we're still hangin' in there. He wished he coulda made it but he and Kane go into it last minute and I told both of them to stay home if they couldn't behave. Kane did say to tell you that he missed you and he'd call you later and Wade said something about G.I. Joe and Barbie. Whatever that means." Vanessa explained, a strange look coming over her face.

Laura laughed and said: "Tell Wade and Kane that I miss them a lot and that I love them. What brings you here, though? Shouldn't you be busy at _The_ _Facility_? Isn't that what they're still calling it?" (1)

"Yeah, that's the new name they settled on. I don't know why. I personally think it sounds a lot worse than Weapon-X but that's me. Anyway, I just came over to check up on you, you know see if you need anything. I'd be happy to go out and get you a pint of ice cream if you want. I'll take you to a movie. Anything to get your mind off your troubles." Vanessa offered.

"Sounds great but I'll have to take a rain-check. I already promised Wanda I'd be at the Brotherhood house around noon to pick up some stuff and talk things over with her."

"Alright, just tell me when you wanna cash that check in and I'll be happy to oblige." Vanessa informed, reaching over and touching Laura's hair. "I also wanted to see how you were taking this baby thing. I know it's gotta be hard on you. After you and Magneto's kid got together, I remember you called me up and started talkin' about the future and about wantin' a family." She sympathized.

Laura sighed and looked down at the floor.

"Yeah. Some things just aren't possible." Laura said, tears coming to her eyes.

"Hey now. Don't think like that. You might be able to have this kid...if there is one, that is. You never know."

"But Sarah said..."

"Weapon-X has been wrong before." Vanessa stated bluntly, obviously not liking the subject of Laura's mother. What kind of woman decides to have a kid for the sole purpose of some kooky lab experiment? "And I wouldn't take Sarah's word as the gospel." Vanessa advised, practically spitting the other woman's name out. "Just wait and see what happens. You never know, your healing factor might not kick in."

Laura smiled at Vanessa's words and was about to say something when Victor came in.

"Breakfast is ready, kid." He said, glaring slightly at Vanessa who just stuck her tongue out at him.

Laura laughed and said: "I'll be there in a minute."

Victor nodded and walked back in the kitchen while Vanessa turned to Laura.

"Is he always this happy? I mean I knew he could be an ass but..." She trailed unsure of the word that would describe Victor Creed.

"Hey now, he's been really sensitive lately. He's helped me a lot." Laura defended putting her hand on Vanessa's. "He's not a bad guy."

"I know." Vanessa smiled. "He's part of the reason I'm here. After you and I hung up last night, he called me and told me that he wanted me to come over this morning and talk to you. He hoped seeing a familiar face would make you feel better."

Laura _'awed'_ before bursting into peals of laughter.

"He's definitely full of surprises, huh?" She asked hugging Vanessa, somehow knowing that it was about time for her to leave. She was proven correct by Vanessa's next sentence.

"Yeah, that he is. Well, I'd better get going. If I don't get back to the _'Facility'_ soon, Kane and Deadpool are gonna end up killing each other." She laughed kissing Laura on her forehead. "I'll see you later and I'll tell Wade and Kane to call."

Laura nodded and watched as Vanessa left the apartment before going into the kitchen with Victor. She immediately walked over to where he was sitting with his breakfast and kissed him on the cheek before walking to her own seat.

"Thanks for asking Nessie over, Sabey. I really appreciate it."

Victor just nodded sheepishly before returning to his breakfast.

* * *

_Brotherhood House..._

Laura sighed as she sat in the front of Lance's jeep. He was probably upset with her for _commandeering_ it yesterday and not bringing it back until today but at least she brought it back. Victor had offered to give her a ride on his motorcycle and wait for her but she told him that she needed to bring Lance's jeep back and that he would be risking entirely too much to be seen in public with her at the Brotherhood house. Magneto and Sebastian Shaw would have his head on a silver platter if they caught him.

It would have been a total and complete lie if Laura claimed that she wasn't nervous about being in the Brotherhood house again. She was nervous and guilty. She hadn't told any of them where she was going or if she would be back and she made the guys worry. She was no better than Pietro. The only thing she had going for her was that none of the guys were pregnant, not to her knowledge at least.

_'Now I'm thinking like Wade.'_ Laura thought, chastising herself for taking the situation lightly. This was a heavy situation and should be looked at with as much seriousness as she could conjure.

Getting out of the jeep, Laura walked up to the door but seconds before going in, she stopped. Should she knock or just go in? It didn't feel right to barge in the house, especially after just disappearing on them but it didn't feel right to knock either. She shook her head and quietly opened the door. Maybe she could go get her stuff and no one would know she had been there. That plan wouldn't work, however. She had already decided that she wouldn't take the jeep again. That was the Brotherhood's main mode of transportation and it would be selfish to steal it.

Laura straightened her posture proudly and decided to face this like a woman. She slammed the door and yelled: "Honey, I'm home!"

In just a matter of seconds the entire Brotherhood was around her, hugging her, kissing her and telling her how much they missed her. She felt loved and wanted but she knew that feeling wouldn't last very long. She wasn't going to stay at the 'Hood House until her test results came back and even then, she wasn't sure what she'd do.

Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she began hugging people and exchanging I love you's. After a few minutes Wanda pushed herself to the front of the pack and hugged her tightly.

"I'm so glad you came."

"I told you I would, didn't I?" Laura laughed, taking in the shocked look on Wanda's face.

"I had my doubts for a while there."

"Oh please. I'm only ten minutes late and I spent most of that time in the driveway gathering my courage." She stated, still laughing. Pulling away from Wanda she tossed Lance his keys and said: "I filled the tank up before I brought it back. Sorry I took 'er for so long. Had a lot of things on my mind."

"That's fine." Lance assured. "You take my jeep anytime you need it. All that matters is that you're back now." He said, kissing the top of her head.

"About that. Wanda can I talk to you in the kitchen?" Laura asked noticing that everyone's face fell at her question. "Hey. Don't be so down, guys. I won't be gone forever. With any luck I'll be living back here in just a matter of days." She said, patting Todd on the shoulder before being picked up momentarily by Freddy.

"We just missed you. I know it's only been a day but the place feels empty without the whole team here." He told her before putting her down.

"I miss you guys too." She assured, throwing a smile to Kitty who was wrapped up in Lance's arms. "Right now, Wanda and I have things to discuss, though." She said gently tugging on Wanda's arm to get her moving.

When the two got to the kitchen, Wanda turned to Laura and asked: "How long?"

"I'm not sure. If the test comes back negative, I'll be back as soon as you can say hallelujah and congratulations."

"And if it's positive?" Wanda inquired leaning on the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Then it'll be longer." Laura stated going to stand on the opposite side of the island.

"How much longer? Nine months? You can't stay away that long, Laura. We're expecting Pietro back any minute now. What are we supposed to tell him? What am I supposed to tell the guys? It was bad enough that Pietro left, making everyone feel empty but now you too? I don't think you realize just how much the guys miss you." Wanda ranted bringing her fist down on the counter.

"I miss them too!" Laura defended. "I just can't stay here not knowing. This uncertainty is killing me and I don't know what to do. I could go out of control and hurt every last one of you. I can't take that chance."

"We're a team and we are supposed to handle things together." Wanda argued.

"Not this. If you add this to our problems with the Hellfire Club, the Brotherhood will have too much on their plate and I don't want to be a hindrance to the team. Besides, my emotions are completely out of control. If I get angry there's no telling what might happen. That's why I'm living with Victor. He's got a healing factor and he can handle whatever I throw at him." Laura explained. "This is for the best."

"You still haven't told me how long you'll be gone if that test is positive." Wanda reminded making eye contact with her.

"I'll be gone until the baby is." Laura muttered.

"I already told you, nine months is too long to be away from the team..." Wanda started but Laura interrupted her.

"You don't get it, Wanda. If the test is positive, I won't be having the baby."

"You don't mean you're going to..."

"No, the baby will be taken care of before that's even an option, most likely."

"Laura you could have this baby. This could work. The team would be thrilled and Pietro would be ecstatic, I'm telling you. Give it a try." Wanda insisted.

"I can't." Laura stated simply.

"What do you mean you can't? Why can't you?" Wanda challenged bringing her hands down on the counter and leaning forward.

"Because I'm not supposed to have children, it's not possible." Laura mumbled.

"Anything's possible." Wanda yelled. "You're just not giving it a chance."

"You don't understand Wanda. My body isn't equipped to have children, it's not a possibility." Laura shot back, voice growing louder.

"Why isn't it? Give me one good reason why not!"

"My body will kill this baby, that's why!" Laura shouted making Wanda take a step back. "Morning sickness is the way that your body tells your immune system that something isn't right with your body, something's wrong. Normal women's bodies soon learn to accommodate the baby. Mine won't. My healing factor is set off by my immune system. My healing factor will treat this baby like a disease and kill it between the first and second trimester. I can't stay if I'm pregnant because I might start showing and then what? I'm big but no baby."

Wanda's face softened and her heart instantly ached for the young girl in front of her.

"You mean you...?"

"Children aren't an option for me. They never have been." Laura mumbled, already feeling her eyes tearing up. "It's not that I don't want children, I do. Would I have liked to have one now? Not really but if I could I would. It's not Pietro, either. I think he would be a great dad and if I could have children I would be eternally happy at the prospect of him being the father. I just...can't." She explained her voice breaking.

"Oh Laura." Wanda sighed walking over to her and wrapping her in a gentle hug. "I had no idea. If I did I wouldn't have said all those things..."

"You had every right to say them. I should have been straight with you from the beginning and I'm sorry I wasn't." Laura apologized burying her head in Wanda's shoulder.

"No. It was your secret to tell and if you didn't want it told, you had every right to keep it a secret." Wanda soothed rubbing Laura's back with one hand and stroking her hair with the other.

Laura lifted her head from Wanda's shoulder and said: "I also wanted to tell you why I can't remember my fight with Pietro..."

Wanda shushed her and said: "I know. Don't worry about that, I know."

Laura's tears started to flow faster and Wanda held her closer, assuring her that everything was going to be fine.

The moment was tender and loving. One woman comforting another on the absence of what makes a woman a woman. Life. Feminists would say that it was sexist but they would be wrong. It's easy to say that having a baby isn't the most important thing a woman can do when you have that ability but when you can't give life, it seems like the only thing you were made for and it hurts. It hurts that you will never be able to bring another human being into this world and men can sympathize but they don't understand. Women with the ability can sympathize but they don't get it either. Wanda knew that and she could only hold Laura and try to comfort her in her time of need.

_'Where's Pietro when you need his sorry ass?'_ She thought knowing that having Pietro there wouldn't fix everything, but it would make it easier on Laura to know that he still loved her.

Suddenly John rushed in the kitchen, stopping short when he saw the tearful embrace the two women were locked in.

"I hate to interrupt but we have a problem." He said looking back and forth between Wanda and Laura.

"What is it, John?" Wanda asked wiping tears from her eyes she hadn't even known she had been shedding.

"Pietro's here. The guys are trying to stall but they can only hold him back for so long. He's asking for Laura." John said casting an uncertain glance at the woman-child in question.

Wanda could feel herself rolling her eyes.

_'When I said I wanted him here, I didn't mean now.'_ She thought, dreading the outcome of a reunion at this particular moment.

"What am I going to do?" Laura asked frantically. "I can't get out of here in time."

Wanda, John and Laura could only exchange worried looks as they quickly ran over possible solutions in their heads. They didn't have much time. Pietro _was_ the fastest man alive after all.

* * *

**Notes: **

_1. __**The Facility**__ is what Weapon-X was called when Laura was there so that title, doesn't belong to me. That's right, you guessed it. Marvel. _

_2. And as if there's someone out there who doesn't know, I **don't** own G.I. Joe or Barbie. _

* * *

_Chapter thirteen, lucky number thirteen. I hope this chapter is lucky at least and I hope you all enjoyed it very much. It only took me hours to write but I put a lot of sweat and tears into so I hope it was worth the work. Thank you to all who read and I hope you see fit to review. Have a wonderful day and I'll try to update soon._

_-anon g._ **;)**


	14. Baby Love, My Baby Love

_Daughter of Destruction _

**Disclaimer:** I do** NOT** own X-men, X-men Evolution, the Hellfire Club, Weapon-X, the characters or the House of M concept. Marvel, Marvel, Marvel. (Kinda like Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.) (1)

**Notes:** A big thank you goes out to Valkyrien and LadyMageLuna for reviewing. You guys are wonderful and this fic really wouldn't go on without you both so thanks.

* * *

_Chapter Fourteen: Baby Love, My Baby Love (2)_

_Brotherhood House..._

Wanda scratched her head, deep in thought. Well, as deep in thought as one can be when their brother is in the other room, threatening to come into the kitchen and discover his pregnant girlfriend who's not even sure if she's pregnant or not.

"My head hurts." Wanda mumbled as Laura ran frantically around the room, searching in vain for a suitable hiding place.

"Sheila, don't you think it would be best if Pietro just comes in here and sees you?" John asked leaning on the counter.

"Are you crazy?" Laura whispered harshly. "If he comes in here, he'll know something's up."

"He might have a point, though." Wanda started, making Laura turn to her in shock.

"Wanda!" She exclaimed in disbelief. "Whose side are you on?"

"I'm on no one's side. I'm neutral." Wanda stated dumbly. "Anyway, John might have a point. Yes, Pietro might know something's up if he comes in here and sees us all talking frantically but won't it be even more suspicious if he finds out that you've moved out?" Wanda reasoned, stepping closer to the frightened teen in front of her.

Wanda could feel her pain and even though she didn't know what Laura was going through, she could sympathize. It would be agony for Wanda if she found out she was pregnant and couldn't have the baby. She herself would probably try to keep the news from the father but right now, it wasn't about sparing Pietro, it was about calming Laura down so if something did happen and she could have the baby, she wouldn't be making a mistake by leaving.

Laura looked as if in deep thought for a moment before begrudgingly nodding her consent to the idea.

"Alright, I'll stay. If I start showing, though, the deal is off." She warned, almost making Wanda squealed in delight at the thought of having her best friend back.

"Well it's nice to see that you've both agreed on a solution because, ready or not, Pietro's comin' down the hall." John spoke up before walking out of the kitchen. John may not know many things but one thing was certain, he didn't want to be around when the shit hit the fan because boy was it going to get messy. Pietro wasn't a dumb guy and even though he didn't say so to the girls, John knew Pietro would find out about the baby, if there was one, sooner or later. Whether she was pregnant or not, Laura would be in for it when Pietro finally did find out. Some men may not care but Pietro was the type of guy who liked to know about things, like potential children and what not. Pietro was a big family man and it would not only hurt him, but also anger him that Laura was planning on keeping this piece of information a secret.

Laura's ears tuned into her surroundings as soon as John spoke those words. She heard him go down the hall, meet Pietro and tell him that she and Wanda were in the kitchen.

_'Way to go John. Can't you keep a secret?'_ Laura thought bitterly, even though she knew it wasn't John's fault. Laura had dug her own grave and now it was time for her to either stand by her decisions or be buried.

When Pietro entered the kitchen, his eyes immediately sought out Laura. He loved his sister but she wasn't his focus right now. She wasn't what he was there for.

Laura wanted to run to him. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and cry her eyes out and it hurt her to know that she couldn't. She didn't even know what they were supposed to be mad at each other for. Besides, Laura knew that in her current condition, crying would end with her spilling her guts to him about their supposed baby.

Pietro looked like he was in a similar state of turmoil. He looked her over, eyes scanning her body in want and need but soon his eyes trailed to hers, shining with love, hope and uncertainty. He, too, wanted to run to her. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let her go. The last two days had been hell away from her and now that he had her in his sights, he didn't ever want to leave her again but something stopped him. He didn't even know if she wanted to be around him after what he'd said to her. That's what had made him leave in the first place.

Noting that there was enough sexual tension surrounding them that it could be cut with a knife, Wanda cleared her throat and, leaning against the counter behind her, asked: "And just where have you been? Do you know how worried we all were about you? I know that sometimes you need to blow off steam but you could at least leave a note or something."

Pietro's eyes reluctantly left Laura's as he turned to his sister in confusion.

"She didn't tell you? She told me to leave. She said she didn't ever want to see me again." He whispered, voice hoarse from disuse.

Wanda turned to Laura whose face held shock and confusion.

"Pietro, I need to know exactly what happened between you and Laura." Wanda stated, walking over to Laura and placing an arm around her.

A shock of pain went through Pietro's stomach and stung at his heart upon seeing Wanda comfort Laura. That should be him. He should be the one over there with his arm around her, not his sister.

"Didn't she tell you?" He asked, voice cracking. He hadn't talked since their fight and talking now, after being silent for so long, made his throat hurt.

Wanda shook her head at her brothers' question and motioned for him to sit at the kitchen table. While Pietro sat, Wanda fixed a glass of water and set it down in front of him.

"Drink." She instructed, preparing to sit down herself before noticing that Laura was still standing on the other side of the room.

Walking over to her, Wanda looped her arm in Laura's and gently tugged on her to get her moving. When Laura started to protest, Wanda just shushed her and ushered her over to the kitchen table. Once everyone was seated, Wanda looked at Pietro and said: "Laura can't remember your fight. All she can remember is that it was about mood swings and you both went to bed mad. From what you say, however, I'm guessing that's not true."

Pietro nodded, affirming Wanda's suspicions about the chemical implanted in Laura by Weapon-X.

"Alright then, you tell me what happened and start from the beginning." Wanda demanded softly, wanting to be harsh with her brother for making her worry but keeping herself calm, seeing that he wasn't up for anything except sleep and quality time with Laura.

Taking a sip from his water, Pietro reluctantly delved into the story of their fight. If Laura couldn't remember, why make her mad at him again? That was his philosophy, but he knew that it was probably killing her to not know. It was then that he decided that he would tell her the truth even if made her truly never want to see him again.

"We were upstairs getting ready for bed the other night when I innocently made a comment about her throwing up that morning. I was concerned and I figured that then would have been the time to ask her. The moment I brought up the subject, though, she got all emotional on me and started crying. I went over to comfort her, telling her that it was OK for her to cry and to let it all out if she needed to. Instead of just taking my comfort as concern, she got angry with me. Told me that she could take care of herself and that she didn't need my sympathy. I backed off and mumbled..." Pietro trailed, uncertain of how to continue. Wanda put her hand on his to get him going again, but quickly retracted her hand at his next words. "I mumbled that I didn't know clones had mood swings. I was angry and I shouldn't have said it and I immediately started to apologize. That's when she kicked me out and told me she never wanted to see me again." Pietro explained, looking at Laura the entire time, trying to gauge her reaction. "I never meant to hurt you, Laura. All I'm asking for is a second chance to make things right. I am so sorry."

After her shock at Pietro's insensitivity wore of, Wanda too turned to Laura, wondering just how the emotional girl would react.

Laura's eyes quickly filled with tears and she opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it again. With one hand over her mouth and the other on her stomach, Laura rose from the table and sped off to the bathroom.

Pietro turned curious eyes to Wanda, who answered before he could even ask.

"She had to go spill her guts." Wanda told him bluntly before rising from her own seat and racing down the hall after Laura.

When Pietro finally gathered his wits and made it to the bathroom, Laura was leaning over the commode and Wanda was behind her, holding her hair back.

"Would it be too out of line for me to ask what the hell is going on here?" Pietro asked, angry that, not only he and Laura were still at odds, but there was obviously something going on that didn't know about.

"Yes it would, you insensitive jerk!" Wanda exclaimed, still holding onto Laura's hair.

"OK, I get insensitive but how am I a jerk? I only left because she told me to!"

"Yeah well, when a girl is upset and tells you to leave she doesn't mean it you idiot. Plus the words jerk and insensitive go hand in hand. You can't have one without the other." Wanda reasoned.

"Jesus Christ..." Pietro started, rolling his eyes.

"Hello, girl finished puking over here." Laura mumbled weakly, standing up and gently shaking her hair free of Wanda's grasp.

Pietro watched as Laura walked over to the sink and instantly began to brush her teeth but Wanda quickly regained his attention as she, once again, started yelling at him.

"I can't believe you even said that to her! You know how tough talking about that kinda stuff is on her and you said that to deliberately hurt her."

"I did not." Pietro argued, glaring down at his sister.

"Oh but you did. She hurt you by lashing out when you tried to comfort her so you figured you'd hurt her in return. You men are all the same." She yelled. "And just for your information, Laura may be a clone but she's got feelings too. She was good enough to go out with you, she was good enough for you to share your bed with and she's obviously good enough to have your kids because she's up here puking her frickin' brains out, so why don't you just put that in your pipe and smoke it!" She added with a huff, not even conscious of the knowledge she revealed until Laura spit out her toothpaste and yelled: "Wanda!"

Instantly knowing what she'd done Wanda looked apologetically back at Laura before turning sheepish eyes on her shocked brother.

"You wanna run that by me again?" Pietro asked, looking back and forth between Laura, who was rinsing the toothpaste from her mouth and trying to act like nothing had happened and Wanda, who had covered her face with her hands in complete mortification.

"What? Who said something about a baby? I know I didn't hear anything about a baby." Laura stammered, wiping her mouth and trying to slide past Pietro and out the bathroom door.

For a moment, Laura figured Pietro was so stunned that she was home free. She was only a few inches from being completely out of the bathroom when a pale hand reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"You're pregnant?" He asked, a stoic look on his face.

"Nothing's for sure yet." Laura muttered under her breath, a feeling of unease in her stomach at his expression.

"You're pregnant and you weren't going to tell me?" He mumbled, growing increasingly angry. "You weren't going to tell me about _my_ child? What were you going to do? Get an abortion? _Leave_ me? Huh?" He yelled, making Laura flinch as his grip on her wrist tightened.

Wanda opened her mouth, about to come to Laura's defense when John came running into the bathroom.

"I hate to interrupt...again but Doc. McCoy is on the phone for you Laura. He says it's important." John told her, holding the phone out to her.

Before Laura could take the phone, Pietro pushed it back at John.

"Put it on speaker." He demanded, a storm raging violently behind his eyes.

Unsure, John looked at Laura, who nodded weakly, and did as Pietro bade him.

"Tell her, Doc." John said looking between the occupants of the bathroom. "She's listening."

"Laura, do you want me to reveal your test results on speaker?" Hank asked kindly, quickly catching on to the situation at hand.

"I don't really have a choice here Doc." Laura told him, trying to pull her wrist from Pietro's tight grasp. "Everyone knows what's going on by now anyway."

"Right. Miss. Laura, your test came back positive. You're two months pregnant."

The entire bathroom went silent. Wanda was caught between crying in happiness and sadness, John was wincing, obviously expecting a bad outcome, Laura felt her knees give out and grabbed onto the bathroom counter with her free hand and Pietro just stood there, staring off into space.

After a moment, Hank cleared his throat and said: "There is a problem, though. I noticed from the other tests than we ran the other day that your healing factor is fighting off the changes the baby is making to your body..."

"Don't," Laura interrupted, tears leaking from her eyes at having her worst fears confirmed. "I already know." Sucking in a deep breath and wrenching her hand from Pietro's loosened grasp she asked: "How soon can I terminate this?"

Now Wanda felt her knees buckle under her and John laid the phone on the counter before quickly rushing to her side to help support her. Laura was giving up. She wasn't even going to ask if there were any other avenues she could take. She wasn't even going to try.

"Are you sure that's what you want, Miss. Laura?" Hank asked concernedly.

"What else can I do?" Laura practically sobbed.

"It may not be ideal but if you really wanted to keep this baby, I could give you a power inhibitor. You would have to wear it all throughout your pregnancy, however and there are some risks..." Hank trailed. "If you do decide that you do want to keep the baby, I would advise you coming to see me immediately. If you don't relieve the pressure the healing factor is putting on the baby, you are libel to miscarriage. The baby is at its most vulnerable in this stage because it's not fully developed." Hank informed, giving both Laura and Wanda a swell of hope.

Laura looked at Wanda, who smiled in an encouraging way and then to John who shrugged as if to say: "It's your nine months." Finally, Laura's eyes rested on Pietro, who was looking down at the floor. After a moment he raised his head and turned his face towards her. His expression was unreadable and it made Laura's stomach uneasy. Did he want this baby or not? Laura opened her mouth to speak but before she could, Pietro was gone. It was as if he hadn't even been there to begin with.

Laura let out a small cry and sank to her knees, back against the bathroom counter. She had a horrible feeling that this time, Pietro was gone for good.

* * *

**Notes: **

_1. The phrase: __**"Marsha, Marsha, Marsha"**__ doesn't belong to me either. Brady Bunch Writers made that up. _

_2. __**"Baby Love"**__ is a song by the Supremes, so the title of this chapter doesn't really belong to me either. Go figure. _

* * *

_Chapter fourteen. I hope everyone enjoys it, even though it's short and kinda lame. I hope you all see fit to review. Have a wonderful day all. _

_-anon g._ **;)**


	15. Patience is a Virtue

_Daughter of Destruction _

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own X-men, X-men Evolution, the Hellfire Club, Weapon-X, the characters or the House of M concept. Marvel!

**Notes:** I would like to take this time to thank Valkyrien and LadyMageLuna who are such awesome reviewers! Thanks, you're wonderful.

* * *

_Chapter Fifteen: Patience is a Virtue_

_Brotherhood House..._

Laura readjusted herself against the counter and brought her knees up to her chest. Placing her arms across bended knees, she buried her head in them and began to cry. Everything had seemed so hopeless and then there was a spark of hope. A spark of hope that was harshly ripped away from her grasp as Pietro, once again, sped away without a word.

She hadn't known what to expect when Pietro found out but it sure wasn't what just happened. He had gone from shocked to angry back to shocked and then he just sped off, leaving her with nothing but the baby inside of her and the Brotherhood. How was she supposed to make a decision about this baby without him? How was she supposed to decide what to do when she was already looking at the situation as a single parent? Laura didn't know what to do but what she did know was that all she felt like doing at this point was cry and that's exactly what she did. She had been fighting her emotions for the past few days and now it was time to let loose. If Victor thought she had let loose at his apartment, he should see her now.

Laura could hear movement around her and through the phone on Dr. McCoy's end but registered nothing until a hand cupped her cheek and tried to bring her face out of her arms. Stubbornly, she resisted the cool fingers that grasped at her.

"Leave me alone, Wanda. I just want to be by myself right now." She sobbed.

God she sounded so weak. When had she transformed from a strong, unyielding weapon to the puddle of mush that she was now? How had this happened? Years of hard work literally crumbled around her with every tear she cried. Years of putting a force field around her heart wasted.

The fingers grasped at her again, trying to gently bend her to their will.

"Baby I can't put this thing on you if you don't lift your head." The owner of the fingers said, making Laura look up in astonishment.

"Pietro..." She started but was quickly shushed as he clasped the slender, necklace-looking power inhibitor in his hands around her neck.

"I don't care if you're still mad at me or not, I want this baby and I'm not giving you a choice in the matter." Pietro told her, truth mixing with a mood lightening joke.

Caught between a laugh and a sob, Laura launched herself at Pietro, who quickly wrapped his arms around her and held her form tightly against his.

"I love you and I'm so sorry I told you to leave. I didn't mean it." Laura started, only to be shushed once again.

"It's alright. What I said was pretty awful and I want you to know I never meant a word of it. I was just so angry. Just promise you won't push me away anymore. I love you and only want to help you." He told her wiping tears from her eyes.

"If anything's going on, you'll be the first to know from now on." Laura promised, burying her head in the crook of his neck.

Pietro laughed and tightened his grip on her. She was just like a child. She acted like she needed no one, no help what so ever but that wasn't true. She needed people, she needed her friends, her family and more importantly, she needed him and he was always going to be there for her, whether she liked it or not. They were bound together through this baby and no matter what happened between them, they would always share that bond.

Hank, who was still on speaker phone, cleared his throat and said: "Well, I'm glad that everything is sorted out. Miss. Laura, I want you to come and see me tomorrow and I will go over the side effects of the power inhibitor with you and make an appointment schedule that I want you to follow. Pregnancy is an unsure thing for any woman but especially for a mutant. You will make an appearance in my office tomorrow, correct?"

"Absolutely, Doc. I'll have her there first thing in the morning." Pietro spoke up, answering before Laura could even open her mouth.

"Well then, I'll see you both tomorrow. Good evening and congratulations." Hank said before hanging up.

John, who still had an arm around Wanda, reached over and shut Laura's phone.

"Well. That was interesting." He commented dryly.

Wanda elbowed him lightly in the ribs before saying: "I'll go start on dinner. I'm sure the guys are about starved."

"At two in the afternoon?" John asked stupidly.

"Yes, dinner will take a while tonight." Wanda gritted out.

"What are we having?"

"Cow brain casserole if you keep talking." Wanda stated taking his hand and leading him out of the bathroom to give her brother and Laura a little privacy.

After moments of sitting on the floor just holding each other, Laura pulled back.

"When are we gonna tell the guys? Some of them suspect but none of them know for sure. They'll be hurt if they find out from someone else." She said, looking at Pietro curiously. It was still hard to believe that he was right here in front of her, wanting this baby just as much as she did.

"We'll tell 'em later." Pietro sighed standing up and bringing her with him. "Much later." With that he picked her up and carried her off to their room. "Right now I need sleep and I can't really get to sleep without you. I haven't slept in two whole days because of our little fight and even though I don't sleep that much on a regular basis, that doesn't mean that I don't ever need to." He informed kicking the bedroom door closed behind him and walking over to the bed. Pietro laid her down gently before climbing on the bed himself and lying on top of her, head resting on her stomach.

"You do know you won't be able to hear anything for some weeks yet, right?" She asked, laughing.

"I know it just makes me feel better to be as close to you and the baby as I can. You're my family now, you and the baby and I promise I'm going to make both of you very happy." He assured, leaning up and kissing her before settling down and drifting right off to sleep.

* * *

_Brotherhood Kitchen..._

Wanda hit John on the arm as soon as the two entered the kitchen.

"You sure can be dense when it suits you." She commented sitting at the kitchen table.

"I thought you were gonna fix dinner..." John stated, ignoring her previous comment completely.

"At two in the afternoon?" Wanda asked, eyebrow raised.

"That's what I said!" John exclaimed in an exasperated tone.

"That was just an excuse to get you out of the bathroom so that Pietro and Laura could have some alone time. They haven't seen each other in two days and he's just finding out about their child. They have a lot to talk about." Wanda explained drumming her fingers on the table as John sat down next to her.

"I have a little feelin' that they're not talkin', luv." John stated sending Wanda a sly smile.

"Eww. Not only are we talking about my brother and my best friend here but we're also talking about a woman who just found out she's pregnant. If I had just found out I was preggo, I don't think sex would be the first thing on my mind. I don't even think I'd want you anywhere near me." Wanda commented absentmindedly.

John's face lit up and Wanda looked at him curiously.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Nothin'. So you're thinkin' of having children with me 'ey?" John jokingly inquired leaning across the table.

Wanda's eyes widened and she slid her chair back.

"Oh no. That's not what I meant..." She argued.

"Oh but that's what you said, luv." John reminded, a delightful smirk occupying his face.

"Did not."

"Did so."

"Did not."

"Did so."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yah-huh."

"Am I interrupting something?" Kitty asked from the doorway, a ghost of a smile playing at her lips.

"No. You've actually got perfect timing." Wanda told the younger girl with a smile. "What is it you need, Kitty?"

"A letter came for the Brotherhood. Lance said I should give it to you and that you'd tell us if it was important." Kitty said walking to the kitchen table and laying the note in front of Wanda.

"Thanks Kitty." Wanda smiled, trying so hard to hold back a sigh. The handwriting was Victor's and it was, no doubt, bad news; which reminded Wanda, she'd have to remember to tell Laura to call Victor and tell him that she was back at the Brotherhood's safe and sound. He was probably worried.

Kitty nodded and, sensing Wanda's irritation, left the kitchen silently.

Wanda picked up the envelope and tapped one end of it on the table repeatedly.

"Aren't you gonna open it, luv?" John asked curiously, moving his chair closer to Wanda's.

Wanda looked up as though startled and shook her head.

"I'll read it later." She assured, rising from her chair and folding the envelope before stuffing the letter into the pocket of her jeans. "What do you think we should have for dinner tonight?" She asked, walking over to the stove.

John followed her every move with concerned eyes. Rising from his own chair, he walked over to her and took her hand.

"What are you hiding, Wanda?" He asked softly. "What's going on that the Brotherhood doesn't know about?"

"Nothing." Wanda insisted. "You guys know everything." She promised, taking her hand from his grasp and moving away from him.

"Don't lie to me, luv. I've known you've been hidin' something for a while now and I want to know what it is." John pressed stepping closer to her.

Wanda stepped back again and after a few moments of playing 'catch me if you can', she was backed up against the refrigerator, trapped between it and John.

"I saw you hide something in your pocket when we got the last letter; I know you know something that the Brotherhood doesn't." He informed putting his arms up on either side of her in case she tried to bolt. "Is it that bad that you can't tell us?"

Wanda could hear the pain in his voice and it broke her heart to keep this from him. She couldn't tell him that Lance knew because he would pester Lance about it and even though he was strong, Lance wasn't that strong, especially if John got Pietro in on the act too. Laura was probably the only person that, if she knew something was up, she didn't say and she didn't worry about it, she would let Wanda handle it. Wanda knew that Todd and Freddy were suspecting something amiss, especially since her meeting with Lance and Xavier. Lance hadn't been the same since that day; he hardly smiled, made jokes or laughed anymore. He would fake happiness for Kitty and it broke Wanda's heart to see him in such a state. She felt as though she owed Lance an apology for having him be her rock. It was a hard job and she knew it and she was selfish for putting him in that position. She should have been strong enough to meet with Xavier on her own. In her mind, she had failed as a leader. She was supposed to protect her team, not make them worry.

"I...I..." Wanda stuttered, trying to think of something that would appease him.

"Am I interrupting something?" Laura asked from the doorway.

Wanda breathed a sigh of relief. Twice during her time with John things had gotten too intense and twice someone has come to save her.

_'I'll have to take Laura and Kitty shopping for this.'_ Wanda thought trying to get passed John's arms, which he immediately allowed seeing as there was someone else in the room.

"No, of course not. Is there something you needed, Laura?" Wanda asked kindly walking over to Laura, grasping the other girls' hands and sending her a grateful smile.

"Yeah," Laura started suspiciously. "I need your phone to call Victor, my battery is dead."

Wanda instantly reached into her pocket and gave Laura her phone.

"How's Pietro?" She asked walking towards the kitchen table and sitting down.

"Asleep. I would have been down here sooner but, according to him, he needed me to help him fall asleep. I figured that as soon as he was out, I should call Victor and tell him I'm staying here but my phone was dead. Do you know how hard it is to get out from under your brother without waking him?" Laura asked exasperatedly, dialing the number to Victor's apartment. With any luck he wouldn't be home and she would be forced to leave a message instead of talking to him directly and inadvertently end up defending Pietro and his actions.

Wanda rolled her eyes and, thinking back to the morning that the young messenger boy came with word from Victor, muttered: "I have a pretty good idea..."

Laura gave her a strange look that passed to John when Wanda wouldn't meet her eyes before Victor's answering machine came in and she delved into her message, letting him know that she was alright and what the situation was. Minutes later she said: _'I love you'_ and hung up the phone, lightly tossing it to Wanda who caught it and returned it to her pocket.

"Now that that's over with, you guys wanna tell me why you were in such a compromising position against the fridge, or should I guess?" Laura asked sitting across from Wanda at the table.

Wanda looked up, startled by the question and John opened his mouth to speak.

"If you lie, I'll know." Laura reminded propping her elbow on the table and placing her chin on her hand.

The look on Laura's face told Wanda that she wasn't asking because she suspected something was wrong, she was only doing it to poke fun at her and John and their budding relationship. Wanda wasn't ready to answer questions about either of those instances just yet.

"Shouldn't you get back to Pietro? What if he wakes up and you aren't there?" Wanda asked smoothly.

"Fine, don't tell me. I'll find out sooner or later." Laura promised, rising from her chair and going into the living room.

John watched the exchange wordlessly. They had just been talking like he wasn't even there. Laura hadn't even spared him a glance as she left the room and now Wanda was up and flitting around the kitchen. Something was definitely up and John knew that Laura could sense it. John also knew that Wanda wouldn't tell him anything and if she told Laura, Laura would keep it quiet. The only person that John could think of that would know anything at this point was Lance and right now, it seemed like Lance would be the only way to get any information. With this in mind, John silently left the kitchen, determined to find out just what Wanda was hiding and what Lance knew about it.

* * *

_I know it's been a while since I updated so here is chapter fifteen. I hope everyone enjoyed it since it took forever to write and I pray that you all like it enough to review. Have a wonderful day all. _

_-anon g._** ;)**


	16. We're Not Heroes

_Daughter of Destruction _

Disclaimer: I do **NOT** own X-men, X-men Evolution, the Hellfire Club, Weapon-X or the characters in this fic. That all belongs to Marvel.

Notes: I would like to thank TitansRule and LadyMageLuna for reviewing. You guys are wonderful!

* * *

_Chapter Sixteen: We're Not Heroes_

_Brotherhood Boarding House..._

John had searched the entire 'Hood house for Lance but had come up empty handed. The last place left to look was his room John hadn't wanted to corner him there. It would be indecent to corner someone in their own territory, not to mention it would mean asking Kitty to leave and that just didn't seem right, asking a woman to leave her own room and all. If that was what it took to get some answers, though, that's what he would do, even if it went against his gentlemanly code.

Cautiously, John knocked on the door, silently listening as he heard shuffling inside. When the door finally opened, Lance stood in front of John donning a wife-beater and a pair of jeans. Looking past the younger man, John could see Kitty sprawled out on the bed asleep.

"I didn't wake you did I?" John whispered, feeling pangs of guilt begin to spread from his stomach and reaching out into his limbs until the pain reached the ends of his finger tips.

Lance shook his head.

"No, I was awake. Is something wrong? I usually don't see you around my neck of the woods. Is Wanda okay?" He asked quietly, stepping closer to John so as not to wake Kitty.

"No, nothing's wrong, I just need to talk to you."

Lance's face grew hard as John's statement rang in his ears. He knew what this was about. Lance had expected it to come to this, one of the Brotherhood to figure things out and turn on him, demanding information but he hadn't expected it to be John. He had been waiting for Pietro's quick temper, Laura's brute persuasion or Freddy's gentle prodding; he had even prepared himself for Todd's annoying chatter, styled with a thick Brooklyn accent but in all his preparations, Lance hadn't expected John.

John had seemed like the only one that would sit back and trust Wanda's judgment, besides Kitty, of course, who had let the subject drop at the first signs of Lance's discomfort. Lance had figured that John loved and respected Wanda more than that but he had obviously guessed wrong. Lance even knew what was happening, what was expected to happen, what everyone was waiting for and still he trusted her. She was a wonderful leader and would handle everything with the grace and precision that she normally did and she didn't need her team, her family, her loved ones, not believing in her.

Finally, after what had seemed like an eternity to John, Lance nodded and stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

"We'll need to talk in private; the hallway is no place to discuss such matters." Lance informed, crossing the hall and entering John's room, taking for granted that Wanda wasn't there.

John looked after him. Such matters? What did that mean? Lance couldn't possibly know what John wanted to discuss, could he?

Shaking his head to clear it, John cleared his throat, though there was no one around to hear it, and took three long strides, easily making it to his room and closing the door behind him.

Lance was already sitting in the chair in the corner when John turned around and John had to squint to find the darker mutant in the shadows.

"What do you want to know?" Lance asked quietly, already knowing his universal answer to any revealing question that John could possibly ask.

John once again cleared his throat and moved to sit on the edge of his bed, bringing him closer to the rock tumbler, making it easier to make out the features of his face.

"Jumping right into the conversation, aren't we?" John joked lightly. Lance's tone and expression, or what he could see of it, made him uncomfortable. He was all business and that was a rarity when conversing with the, usually, lighthearted and fun loving earth shaking mutant.

"I know you want information, John. Just get to the point." Lance replied harshly, probably harsher than he had originally intended. It was hard, though. Wanda was like his sister, though not long ago, she had been his lover. They had a connection and a bond that no one else had with either of them. They were unique.

Usually when people break up, they don't stay friends and if they do, it's a strained relationship. Lance and Wanda had immediately went back to the way things had been before dating and that was rare. Wanda was special to him and he knew that it would hurt her if she knew that John was sneaking around behind her back, trying to gain information so he would be the first one to admit that he was being unnecessarily harsh. It was just his way, though and John would have to deal with it.

"Alright, I'd like to know what went on in Xavier's office last week." John revealed in a demanding tone.

"I'm sorry," Lance started, getting up from his chair. "But I can't reveal that information. It is not time for you to know."

John quickly rose from his own seat and grabbed Lance's arm.

"So what, you're just going to say something cryptic and leave? I need to know what happened in that office, Lance. It's important." John gritted out, quickly losing his temper with the taller man.

Lance looked from John's angry expression to the hand on his arm and back up at John.

"John, you're my buddy and all but if you don't respect Wanda's need for privacy on this and stop buggin' me, I'm gonna have to clock you." Lance informed, trying to be as calm as was possible.

John straightened his posture but kept his grip on Lance's arm, preventing him from going anywhere.

"Lance, I need to know. You don't know how important this is." He insisted.

Lance sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Oh I think I know how important it is. It's about as important as why dogs dream, you're just being nosy. When Wanda wants people to know, she'll make an announcement. Until then, it stays between me and her." Lance growled, feeling his protective streak over the hex wielding mutant flare up. John was about to push him overboard and if he kept it up, Lance would be forced to bring the house down.

"You don't understand, Lance..." John started but soon found himself interrupted.

"No, I understand. I understand perfectly. You forget that I was with her before you were. I know how hard it is to love Wanda and I know how hard it is to see her crumble under the weight of the world's problems. But I also know that she'll have an easier time working things out without people trying to interfere. Without her loved ones second guessing her. You think you're helping but you're not, John. Take it from someone who's been there, buddy, you're only making things worse." Lance explained, trying very hard to keep his cool. "Right now, all we can do is be there for her and stand by her. She doesn't need you to know about her problems because then you'll want to be a big, macho man and stand in front of her, trying to protect her. She doesn't need that. She needs everyone to stand with her. Not in front or behind her. This team isn't the place for heroes, John. Let Wanda deal."

John stared into space, taking Lance's words in. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Lance pull his arm away and leave the room.

Was Lance right? Should this be left to Wanda? If Lance held all the answers, why did standing around and doing nothing feel so wrong?

* * *

_Brotherhood Kitchen..._

Lance sighed as he walked into the kitchen. John was a good guy and all, but he really knew how to stick his nose in places where it didn't belong.

"You okay?" Wanda asked, startling Lance.

"Me? I'm fine. How are you?" He asked unsurely. Lance was wary about questions like _'how are things'_ around Wanda; he didn't want her to feel like he was pressuring her. He wanted her to be as comfortable with him as she had always been and the only way he knew how to do that was to ask once and then let her speak. If she wanted him to know, he'd know and if she didn't, he'd wait.

Throughout his years in the 'Hood house, Lance had learned that Wanda was a complex and intense creature. Nothing was left to chance with Wanda. She wasn't a gambler and she never had been. Wanda was the type of woman who thought things through before she made a decision. She wasn't random or spontaneous where her team was concerned.

"I'm doing okay I guess." Wanda started, looking down. The guilt she had felt earlier was now coursing through her system at full throttle. She needed to apologize to Lance, but she couldn't find the words to do so. "Lance, will you sit with me for a moment. I want to say something to you and I'm not sure how..." She trailed, her hands fidgeting by her sides.

Lance took in her nervous demeanor and deemed the topic at hand as having nothing to do with Destiny's dooming prophecy.

Nodding, Lance took Wanda's hand as he had done so many times before and led her to the kitchen table. Pulling two chairs up so that they were facing each other and in close proximity, he sat down and gently tugged on Wanda's hand, silently commanding her to take a seat as well.

Lance stayed quiet for a time, silently drawing circles on her hand and waiting for her to collect her thoughts. Whatever was going on with her, he knew it was hard to express in words and so he gave her the silence she needed to sort things out.

Finally Wanda spoke.

"First I would like to say thank you for being here for me. Considering our past, things could be really weird between us but you are so understanding and wonderful and I appreciate that." She told him, smiling warmly. "The next thing I want to say is I'm sorry. You don't know how badly I feel about putting you in this position. I know that it's hard for you, it's down right changed your entire demeanor and I want to apologize for that." She explained, raising a hand for silence as he started to speak. "I should have been able to do this on my own and I should have never put you in this position. It was very selfish of me to do so and I'm sorry that I didn't think about you before bringing you into this."

Lance's eyes softened and he reached out and grasped her free hand in his. Holding both of her hands in his, he brought them to his face and kissed both before speaking.

"You don't have to apologize. When we made you leader, no one expected you to take it alone. No one expected you to keep everything bottled up inside. You needed me and I was there for you and I don't want you to ever be sorry for that. Don't you ever feel bad for needing me. I need you to need me just as much as you need me to be there. Sure Kitty needs me but it's not the same. She and I haven't been through what you and I have. That doesn't mean I don't love her, it just means that I still love you. I need you and even though it is horrendously selfish, I'm ecstatic when you want _me_ to be the one by your side." Lance admitted. "Sometimes I feel like John is taking you away from me in more ways than one."

Wanda laughed lightly and leaned in towards him.

"I love John but he can never be for me what you are. And if it makes you feel any better, I still love you too and I will probably always need you."

"Well that does help a little." He laughed, bringing her closer and enclosing her in his arms. "You promise you'll stop feeling bad for me?" He asked after a moment. "It's taking a toll on you and right now, you don't need that. I'm fine and before you even say it, so is Kitty. She understands and she's okay with it. Think about yourself right now, Wanda. Let me worry about the rest of the team."

Wanda pulled her head from where it was resting against his shoulder so that she could look him in the eyes.

"But, Lance there's so much going on with Laura right now, so much that you don't know..." She started.

Lance just shook his head and shushed her.

"I know more than you think I do and so do the guys. They're a little hurt that they haven't been told yet, but they're waiting patiently for Laura and Pietro to be ready." He informed.

Wanda's eyes grew wide at his statement and her mouth gaped open. Lance laughed and, putting a finger under her chin, gently shut it for her.

"It's a small house Wanda, a tad too small for eight people. Word gets around fast."

"But...but..." She stammered, trying to find the words to convey her feelings.

"But nothing. They're fine and they understand. They'll get over it. You worry about you, let me and Pietro worry about the team, huh?" Lance begged, eyes pleading with her.

Reluctantly Wanda nodded and her head fell back to Lance's shoulder as he gently rubbed her back, silently assuring her in a way that no one else could that everything was going to be fine and that the Brotherhood would make it out of this unscathed.

* * *

_This was a short chapter, I know and one that focused, mainly, on Lance but Lance needed some air time, IMO. I hope everyone's not too mad at me for making this one about Lance but it goes further into Lance and Wanda's relationship and shows just how deep their bond goes. There will be more next time, I promise and the Hellfire Club will definitely make an appearance next chapter. Their "business" is finished and a week has come and gone. Sebastian Shaw has a decision to make so please stay tuned. Please don't forget to review and thanks for reading. _**:)**

_A new part of my notes at the end of each chapter will be the shameless 'pimping' of my buddies and their fics. _

_Onto the Shameless Pimping: _

_Everyone who hasn't checked it out should totally check out _Valkyrien's_ fics _"Scarlet Letter"_ and _"Who Knew."_ Both are wonderful works of art and anyone who is a fan of Jonda and Romy will definitely enjoy them. Also, my good buddy _Keyko101_ has two fics going on right now as well called _"Motivation"_ and _"Strange Overtones."_ All the Xietro fans out there need to totally check out _"Motivation"_ and _"Strange Overtones"_ is a wonderful fic for anyone who enjoys 'after apocalypse' fics and a focus on the Brotherhood. All are wonderful pieces of work and I think everyone should go check 'em out._

_Have a wonderful day all. _

_-anon g_. **;)**


	17. Decisions, Decisions

_Daughter of Destruction _

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own x-men, x-men evolution, weapon-x, the hellfire club, the characters or the house of m concept. Marvel owns it all.

**Notes:** I would like to take this time to thank TitansRule, Valkyrien, Keyko101 and LadyMageLuna for reviewing. Your opinions mean a lot to me and I'm glad that you liked the last chapter enough to review. You guys are wonderful.

* * *

_Chapter Seventeen: Decisions, Decisions_

_Brotherhood House..._

Wanda lay in bed that night holding the letter Victor had sent her in her hand. Victor hadn't spent any time getting to the point in this letter, the Hellfire Club was making a decision about her tonight, she had every right to be scared and he told her so.

Wanda felt a cold chill travel through her body, making her shiver. Victor was scared for her and he had told her to be scared, what did that say? Wanda already knew these people weren't above murder but they needed her alive, what could they do to her that would elicit fear in Victor Creed? Wanda didn't know and to be truthful, she didn't want to find out, either.

Thinking about the Hellfire Club and all the possible torture devices they could put her through made her sick to her stomach and she knew she wouldn't rest peacefully. Now she wished that she had taken John up on his offer to spend the night in his room.

* * *

_the Hellfire Club, Sebastian Shaw's Office..._

Shaw watched the members of his Inner Circle and Magneto's Acolytes shuffle around his office, trying to find a way that they could all sit comfortably. Observing them quietly, Shaw could tell that they were all excited by their endless chatter. Everyone was obviously waiting for his decision on the Wanda Maximoff situation.

He could feel Tessa tense up beside him as Emma made her way to the chair closest to his desk. Tessa hated Emma Frost with a passion and it wasn't hard to tell. Tessa didn't mind Selene, Destiny or Mystique and she got along with all the male members of the Hellfire Club but Emma was someone that she just couldn't deal with and Shaw understood and respected that. Emma was a very difficult person to handle, her having a strong and pushy personality and all, and she had to be taken in small doses. Shaw could safely say that no one really liked Emma; they only tolerated her for her money.

Shaw's eyes soon left Emma and wandered to Magneto's Acolytes. He didn't trust them, not a one. He barely trusted Magneto, the only reason he allowed him to be a member of the club, let alone his sacred Inner Circle was because Tessa convinced him that Magneto would be a valuable asset. Magneto had political connections and was closely affiliated with the underground mutant community. He commanded the Savage Land and all of Asteroid M, not to mention his numerous hidden bases that many of his Acolytes had never even heard of. The person Shaw distrusted most, however, wasn't Magneto, it was Sabretooth. (1&2)

Victor Creed was a hard man to read and Shaw didn't like that quality in a tentative ally. It was very disconcerting to say the least. Victor, like Magneto, had connections but they were in much darker places. Victor Creed's name held a tremendous weight all over the world and some of his connections were in places Sebastian Shaw even dared not go. Sabretooth was unpredictable as well, who knew where his allegiance lay? When Shaw first met him, he was sure that Victor was all for Magneto but now, he was not so sure. Victor began to question things and if Shaw hated anything more than people who were hard to read it was people who questioned his authority. At first it didn't bother him, though. Whenever Victor questioned, Magneto would back Shaw up and that would be the last you heard out of Victor on the subject but now Victor began to even question Magneto and Shaw would be lying if he said he wasn't afraid of that.

Someone cleared their throat and Shaw was startled out of his thoughts. Looking around, he saw everyone seated. Acolytes were at the back of the room, as usual, Emma and Selene up front, right next to the desk and Tessa behind the desk, sitting right next to the Black King himself.

"You are all, no doubt, ready for my decision." Shaw started. "But before I tell you how things are going to go, I would like to explain something. I have taken into account everything that was said here in our last meeting and I have thought about every possible situation. I have gone over many outcomes of these situations, strategic advances and hindrances and I want you to know that this has been a very thought provoking situation." He explained, taking this time to let his eyes lazily sweep the room, looking for signs of understanding. "I have come to neither of the decisions proposed."

Everyone looked around at each other curiously before turning puzzled eyes back to their leader, silently waiting for him to continue. There had to be more to this, there just had to be.

"I have made up my own course of action and this will be how things are done. No one will question my authority without severe punishment and everyone will participate, _everyone_ has a job." He informed, leaning back in his chair. "We will neither kill Agatha Harkness nor let this problem alone in hopes for the best. We will capture the Scarlet Witch. Selene, you will take Mastermind to capture Miss. Maximoff. He will control her mind and get her to come with us and you will protect him. Magneto, I want Destiny to be kept here at the Hellfire Club, a room has already been set up for her. She is far too precious to risk and Mystique, along with some of my own personnel, will watch after her and keep her comfortable. Sabretooth, I want you watching the Brotherhood's every move. I don't want anything to slip past you, if anything looks suspicious or you believe they are devising a plan to get their leader back, I want you to tell me. Mastermind, you are probably the most important element in this equation. Once we have acquired the Scarlet Witch, you will psychically make Wanda go crazy. You will rewrite the events of the last few months, weeks, years if you have to and you will bring her to the point of this insanity. Emma, you will help Mastermind keep the Scarlet Witch under control. She is too strong for one of you to handle, but the both of you should be able to control her. All you both have to do is keep this alternate reality in her head, that way the only thing that will be altered is her sanity." Shaw revealed smugly, looking rather pleased with himself and his idea.

All was silent in the office while everyone thought this plan through. Tessa was the first one to break the silence.

"No offense, Sebastian but how will changing reality in her head get the results that we want out here?" She questioned, looking at him with genuine curiosity.

"I'm glad you asked that, my dear and the answer is, it won't. Not until the time is ready, at least. Mastermind will be controlling her thoughts and her sanity while Emma will be controlling her mind and her powers. Emma will keep her powers dormant until we are sure that the Scarlet Witch will bend reality to our favor. Once we are sure she is under control, Emma will release her powers to the world at the last moment and then, reality is ours. Humans will become mutants. We will be the majority and nothing will be able to stop us."

As Shaw's last words rang out, the room was, once again, overtaken with silence. No one spoke; some were trying to find a flaw in this plan while others were silently praising their leader and his genius.

"When will we capture the Witch?" Selene asked, running a hand nervously through her hair. Not many things made Selene Gallio nervous but capturing potentially the most powerful mutant in the world did. She looked around. If anyone else was worried about this little endeavor, they didn't show it.

"That is the only problem I have found in my plan." Shaw admitted. "You and Mastermind will have to watch the Brotherhood house intently. The Scarlet Witch and her team of imbeciles are always together, you will have to catch her alone or sneak in without being detected. Then and only then will you be able to grab her without a fight."

Selene nodded and turned in her chair to face Magneto's Acolytes. Staring straight at Mastermind she said: "I guess we had better get to work, then."

Mastermind looked taken aback for a moment before wordlessly nodding and rising from his chair, motioning for her to follow him out the door.

"Oh and Selene," Shaw called after her. "Wait outside for a minute. I would like to speak with you once the meeting is over."

When Selene looked back, her face was a mixture of shock and worry. What had she done? Sending a short nod in Shaw's direction, Selene left the room.

Once they were gone, all eyes turned back to Sebastian Shaw whose current focus was Destiny.

"Ms. Adler, is there anything else we should know before we continue with preparations? Have you had anymore visions?" He asked kindly, knowing that even though she was blind, Destiny was not a woman to be trifled with.

Destiny took no time in answering the question.

"No." She replied evenly. Offering nothing more and nothing less.

Victor's head snapped towards Destiny at her answer and Mystique gazed at him curiously. Shaw, who hadn't noticed anything amiss, nodded shortly, momentarily forgetting that the future witnessing mutant couldn't see the gesture.

"Well, then. Everyone, you have your assignments, be on your way. Send Selene in on your way out." He called after them as he sat back in his chair.

When Selene entered, Tessa's eyes shifted uncomfortably between the two. She didn't know what this little meeting was about but in unnerved her to be a part of it and prompted her to tentatively ask if she should leave.

"That's preposterous, Tessa." Shaw exclaimed. "You're my assistant, you need to be here. Selene, please sit down."

Selene did as she was bade and sat across from the imposing Sebastian Shaw and the obviously uncomfortable Lady Tessa.

"What is this about, Shaw?" Selene asked warily, looking around the office for some type of ambush.

"Nothing to worry about Selene." Shaw laughed heartily. "I just have an extra mission for you."

"With all due respect, Sir, capturing the Scarlet Witch is a big mission in itself. I don't know if I'll be able to handle another one but I'll try my best." She commented honestly. Selene was the type of person who boasted about her greatness but now was not the time and Selene wasn't stupid. If Sebastian Shaw sent you out to do something and it wasn't done, there would be hell to pay.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine, Selene. Besides, this little mission will also take place at the Brotherhood House. I'm a little worried about where Sabretooth's loyalties lie. Magneto seems to be loosing his grip on the large cat and I need you to help him get it back. I did a little digging and I found out that someone very important and close to Sabretooth is living in the Brotherhood house. Laura Kinney, code name X-23." Shaw explained.

"Wolverine's clone?" Selene asked unsurely, exchanging a look with Tessa. "Why would Sabretooth be close to a miniature Wolverine? He hates that man."

"You see, X-23 was..._employed_ by Weapon-X when Sabretooth was. Wolverine was nowhere in sight at this time and so Sabretooth grew attached to the girl. I think Sabretooth might have some reservations about stealing his..._'little sisters'_ friend. I need you to make sure that he stays in line."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Selene inquired, genuine puzzlement on her features.

"After you and Mastermind have kidnapped the Scarlet Witch, you will kidnap X-23 as well." Shaw revealed, watching in delight as Selene's eyes grew wide.

"Are you crazy?" She practically yelled. "Capturing the Scarlet Witch is one thing but X-23 has mental shields. Even Xavier couldn't crack her, let alone Mastermind and his little child's play visions. She would slice me up in a second!"

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Shaw laughed, obviously seeing some kind of sick humor in her distress.

"Oh really? And how are you so sure?" She challenged, forgetting for a second who she was talking to. Shaw ignored her tone, though. He was having too much fun seeing her squawk like some ruffled hen.

"I have a source that says X-23's powers are currently out of commission."

"A source? How reliable is this source?" Selene questioned, eyebrow raised.

"How reliable are any of my sources?" Shaw asked smugly. "Now hurry along, I want this done before Sabretooth can warn the Brotherhood."

* * *

_Outside Sebastian Shaw's office minutes earlier... _

As the Acolytes left the meeting and went their separate ways, Mystique whispered something to Destiny before jogging to catch up with Victor.

"Hey, what was that back there? You looked like you'd seen a ghost when Shaw was talking to Destiny." She asked, trying to keep up with his long strides.

Victor suddenly took her off guard by gently grabbing her arm and pulling her to the side of the hallway.

"Shh." He started. "Don't talk so loud."

"Okay." Mystique whispered. "Now are you going to tell me what that was all about? You better be glad that Shaw didn't see you."

"It wasn't anything Raven; I was just surprised by Destiny's answer, that's all." Victor said gruffly, eyes shifting back and forth down the hallway. No one could _ever_ speak freely in the Hellfire Club. The walls had eyes and ears and they were all in cahoots with Sebastian Shaw. Shaw knew everything that was said in his club and Victor wasn't even sure if his and Mystique's hurried whispers would slip under the radar.

Mystique raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Liar. Destiny told you, didn't she…?" She started but Victor roughly clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Are you _trying_ to get us killed? I knew you hated me but I didn't know you were on some suicide mission from hell." He started. "You can't talk like that here, you know that. You keep it up and Sebastian Shaw might decide Destiny isn't valuable enough to keep around after all and that'll be the end of your little _lover_." Victor warned bitterly.

Mystique's face broke out into a sly grin at his statement and she slowly inched closer to him.

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Vicky."

Victor growled but Mystique ignored it and continued.

"If you wanted a little love, all you had to do was say something." She informed, pressing her body closely to his.

Victor rolled his eyes and began to move away. Raven laughed.

"You haven't lost your nerve, have you?" She teased, eyes twinkling with mischief.

Victor turned at her light accusation and allowed himself a smirk. The night was about to become longer than either of them had intended.

* * *

_Brotherhood House..._

Lance woke up the next morning feeling groggy and unwell. He sure hoped he wasn't coming down with some kind of cold, now really wasn't the time to get sick. Making a mental note to see Wanda later for some herbs, he looked to his left, expecting to find Kitty there but he quickly noticed that she was already awake and probably downstairs. Turning to his bedside table and catching a glimpse at the clock, Lance groaned as he realized that it was eleven. He had slept about half the day and as soon as Wanda saw him, he would be in for it. She hated it when people missed breakfast.

Quickly getting dressed and stopping in the bathroom to make himself presentable, Lance made his way downstairs, expecting to be greeted by an angry hex wielding gypsy. Instead, Lance found Todd and Freddy in the living room and Kitty and John talking in the kitchen. From the looks of things, Wanda was still asleep and no breakfast had been made.

"What's going on? Where's Wanda?" He asked, feeling his heart begin to beat faster. Where was their leader? Taking a second look around, he lightly asked: "Where's the preggo? Where's Speedy?" In an attempt to calm himself. Something was wrong, he could feel it.

"We don't know." John started. "I asked Wanda if she wanted to have some company last night and she turned me down. I haven't seen her since and no one has been brave enough to go up and wake her."

"No one's seen Laura and Pietro either. There have been no sounds of stirring from either of their rooms. I'm getting really worried, Lance. I was going to phase through the door just to check up on her but John said we should wait for you." Kitty explained, rising from her seat at the kitchen table and walking over to him.

"Has anyone made breakfast yet?" He asked, looking around again, hoping that Wanda would emerge from her room before he was forced to disturb her.

John shook his head.

"That's Wanda's job. Besides, she likes it when everyone eats together so we were waiting."

Lance nodded and said: "Get Freddy to start breakfast while I go up and check on her. You guys stay down here, no sense in her getting pissed at all of us." Before turning around and casually walking to the stairs. Once he was sure that he was out of sight, he quickened his pace, taking three steps at a time.

"Wanda." He called, lightly knocking on her door. "Come on, Wanda. Everyone's been waiting for you. The guys are really worried."

Silence.

"Wanda?" He called again. "Whatever Victor's letter said, it can't be that bad…Wanda?"

After a few more minutes of silence, Lance tried the door. It was locked. Letting out a deep sigh, he prayed to the heavens and silently asked Wanda's forgiveness in advance before stepping back and kicking the door in.

Lance's blood ran cold as his eyes observed the empty room. Wanda wasn't there. Immediately Lance began searching for some kind of note. If Wanda had woken up early and taken off for some errands, she would have left a note.

His breathing returned to normal as his eyes caught sight of a folded piece of paper on Wanda's bed. Walking over and picking it up, Lance recognized Victor's hand writing. It was obviously the note he had sent her yesterday but on the back, the handwriting was different. It was curvy and feminine.

_'Two Hoods down, five to go.' _

Lance's eyes widened as he read the message.

"No." He breathed, racing from the room and down the hall to Laura and Pietro's room. Lance didn't even bother to check and see if the door was locked, there wasn't time. Kicking the door in, Lance found Pietro sprawled out on the bed but Laura's side was empty save for a piece of paper that read:_ 'Guess who'_ in the same curvy writing from the note in Wanda's room.

Suddenly the ground began to shake and insignificant little trinkets began to fall off various shelves. They were gone. Two of the most important women in his life were gone. The Hellfire Club might think the Brotherhood nothing but peons but they were wrong. All hell was about to break loose on a certain well known strip club and Lance would make sure of it. He would get Wanda and Laura back if it was the last thing he ever did, even if he had to rock every hide-out the Hellfire Club had to do it.

* * *

**Notes: **

_1. **The Savage Land** is a section of Antarctica where Magneto resided for a time in the comics. Belongs to Marvel, not to me. _

_2. **Asteroid M** is Magneto's base that orbits the Earth in the comics. Also belongs to Marvel and not me. _

* * *

_There's chapter seventeen. I'm not really sure about it but I hope you like it. It took forever to write so I hope it was worth it. _**:)**_ As promised, Sebastian Shaw made his decision and Selene and Mastermind made good on his plan. I don't really know what's in store next so I guess you'll just have to stay tuned to find out. _**:)**

_Shameless Pimpage: _

_Just like the last chapter, I am shamelessly pimpin' out my peeps. _Valkyrien's_ "_Scarlet Letter_" and "_Who Knew?_" are still awesome and _Keyko101's_ still rockin' with "_Motivation_" and "_Strange Overtones_." This time, however, I have added a new fic. I recently read _TitansRule's_ "_Home Alone_" one-shot and it was marvelous. Read people, read! _

_Have a wonderful day all. _

_-anon g._ **;)**


	18. Aftershock

_Daughter of Destruction_

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own X-Men, X-Men Evolution, the Hellfire Club, Weapon-X or the characters. (You should all know this stuff by now.)

**Notes:** I have recently changed my screen name from _anon goddess_ to _Midnight Larkin_. I'm terribly sorry for and confusion this has caused.

I would like to thank TitansRule, LadyMageLuna and Valkyrien for reviewing. You guys are wonderful and I hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint.

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_Chapter Eighteen: Aftershock..._

_Brotherhood Boarding House..._

As soon as the ground under them began to quake, John shot a look at Kitty and bolted for the stairs. Growing worried at not finding anyone in Wanda's room, he sped around the rest of the second floor until he stumbled into Laura and Pietro's room out of breath.

"What's going on?" He gasped.

"Yeah Lance, like what's the problem?" Kitty asked leaning against the doorway.

Lance didn't answer them; he just stalked over to Pietro's side of the bed and grabbed the sleeping man by his shirt. Shaking him furiously he asked: "Where are they, Pietro?"

Pietro groaned but didn't stir from his slumber, something was very wrong. Pietro could rarely sleep for two hours let alone the entire night and into the next afternoon.

Slapping Pietro on the face, Lance again asked: "Where are they?"

This time Pietro's eyes opened and he looked up at Lance, blinking a few times.

"Where are who?" He asked dumbly.

Lance rolled his eyes and let go of Pietro's shirt, dropping the younger mutant down onto the bed before turning to John and Kitty.

"What is going on?" Kitty asked, a deep and searing fear seeping into her veins.

Once again Lance didn't answer, he just pushed past her and made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. He vaguely heard Todd and Freddy speak as he picked up the house phone and dialed a familiar number. Quickly growing frustrated at the steadily ringing phone, Lance pulled the old phone out of the wall and sent it sailing across the kitchen. Todd 'eeped' as it hit the refrigerator and fell to the floor.

"Lance," Freddy started calmly. "Where's Wanda?"

Lance spun around angrily, ready to snap at the innocent child-like mutant but was distracted by the front door opening and someone slamming it behind them.

"Wanda!" A gruff voice called out.

Lance's face grew sinister as he charged into the front hallway and stopped the owner of the gruff voice before he could even reach the main room. Charging him and jacking him up against the front door, Lance growled out: "Where are they Victor?"

Victor growled in return and threw the younger man away from him.

"What the hell are you doin', kid? Where are who?" He asked, straightening his shirt.

Lance charged him again.

"What did they do to them?" He demanded, banging the feral mutants head against the door.

Victor grabbed Lance's arm and sent a strong kick to his gut, sending him into the stair railing.

"First off, you need to calm down. Secondly, I didn't come here for you; I came here to speak with Wanda. Now where is she?" He questioned looking around at the assembling mutants, searching for his target.

"She's gone! Now where is she, Victor? I know you know." Lance started, picking himself off the floor with a little help from Kitty.

Victor's heart literally stopped beating for a second at Lance's answer. She was gone? They had gotten to her already? The plan had just been devised last night, how was this possible?

Before Victor could ask any of the questions swirling in his brain John, who was helping a strung out Pietro down the stairs, spoke up.

"What do you mean, she's gone?" He asked in a rough tone, almost dropping Pietro in shock at the situation.

"I mean she's gone, the Hellfire Club has her." Lance gritted out through clenched teeth.

"How do you know it's the Hellfire Club?" Kitty asked in a somewhat hysterical tone.

"Because the assholes left a note. Besides, who else would be able to stop Pietro?" Lance seethed, sending a glare in Victor's direction.

Victor sighed and guiltily ran a hand through his hair. Looking around he asked: "Where's Laura?"

Lance wordlessly passed him the note from Laura's room and watched as Victor's expression contorted in pain.

How could this be? She was gone too? Victor couldn't help the guilty feeling that swirled around in his gut. He could have stopped it if it hadn't been for Mystique.

_'Mystique.'_ He thought angrily. She was most likely in on their little plan and was sent to be a diversion for him.

Growling, Victor crumbled the note and turned on his heel.

"Where are you going?" John called out.

"I'm going to take care of a little personal business. You guys get to Xavier's and tell him everything that happened. Talk things over with him, come up with a plan and I'll be over there in a little while." He instructed flinging the door open and stalking out.

* * *

_the Hellfire Club..._

Victor stormed through the private halls of the Hellfire Club making no effort to be quiet. He was there and he was mad and everyone was going to know about it. Using his expert sense of smell, Victor easily found the room that had been set up for Destiny and Mystique.

Not even bothering to knock, Victor busted the door down and charged inside; taking no notice of the surprised looks Shaw's men were throwing him.

"Out, now." He demanded and before anything else could be said, Shaw's men were gone leaving just Victor, Mystique and Destiny.

"Hello, Victor. It's a pleasure to see you again." Destiny laughed, her tone holding the mischief of a joke that only she knew about.

Victor only nodded to the older woman, not remembering her blindness in his rage, and stalked over to Mystique. One hand shot out and grasped her neck, pinning her to the wall so that she was eye level with Victor.

"You think you're real cute, don't ya?" He growled out, inching closer to her.

"What are you talking about?" Raven gasped, squirming in his grip.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" Victor snarled, bringing his face within inches of hers. "You were sent to be a distraction so that Selene could take them!"

"Them?" Raven questioned eyes wide. "Them who?"

"Wanda and Laura."

Fear gripped at Raven's heart as she heard that the Wolverine clone had been taken. If Victor suspected she had anything to do with her disappearance, he would kill her and not think twice about it.

"I had nothing to do with this Victor, honest." Raven started, her light squirms suddenly transforming into violent writhing. "I knew absolutely nothing about this."

Victor pulled back his hand and sent her into the wall harshly. "LIAR!" He growled out angrily. "Tell me the truth, Destiny. Raven was in on this, wasn't she?"

Destiny solemnly shook her head. "Raven wouldn't do anything without consulting my wisdom, Victor. She was not a part of this. I wouldn't allow it."

Victor's head shot to Destiny at her answer. "Why?"

"Because I know how you feel about both of them and I would never betray your trust in such a way. Besides, one has to be an awful woman to kidnap one bearing life." Destiny explained cryptically. "We had nothing to do with the disappearance of Miss. Maximoff and Miss. Kinney, or should I say Miss Maximoff and Mrs. Maximoff?"

Victor dropped Raven, who hit the floor gasping for breath and thanking God that she was alive, and walked over to Destiny.

"You have to help me Destiny; I have to get those girls back." He pleaded, dropping to his knees and taking both of Destiny's hands in his own. Even Destiny was in shock of his actions; Victor Creed pleaded with no one. "We have to stop this whole mess right now!"

Destiny nodded and said: "Gather the Brotherhood and I will gather the Acolytes. We will meet at the Brotherhood boarding house in the wee hours of the morning. Go to them at Xavier's and tell them to be ready. Tell the young Mr. Alvers to take the role as leader. Tell the young Mr. Maximoff to gather his wits about him. Tell Mr. Allerdyce to snap out of his comatose state but most importantly tell the entire house to shake themselves of their grief for in a few hours they will have to face Magneto..."

* * *

_I've had this part of what was supposed to be a longer chapter written for ages now but, wanting to add more to it, I decided that I wouldn't post it until it was finished. Looking back on it now, I see that the chapter__** is**__ finished and probably better off if left as is. I'm truly sorry for making everyone wait so long for this chapter and I do hope that you enjoyed it. I will try to update quicker next time. _

_Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day all._

_-Midnight Larkin._** ;) **


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